The Heritage Academy boys with the TTIS Shootout trophy. Picture by Arnab Mondal

It’s been four months since the FIFA World Cup but brothers Kousik and Souvik Bag still can’t believe how their favourite team conceded seven goals to Germany in the semi-final. But the die-hard Brazil fans did the samba colours proud when their team won TTIS Shootout 2014. The bonus: the opponents were playing in Argentina colours.

Heritage Academy High School, Howrah, beat Midnapore Town School 2-0 in the all-Bengal final of the five-a-side inter-school tournament presented by Dabur Red Paste at Bijoygarh JEFA Ground.

While Kousik, a Class XII student, stood tall at the Heritage Academy’s defence, spoiling all moves by the Midnapore school, Souvik, a year younger, broke the deadlock in the second half to give the Howrah school the all-important lead. He set up another goal for Biswajit Hat, Class XI.

Souvik was declared the Man of the Match in the final . He was also the highest scorer with five goals.

A Neymar fan, he has been playing for the school team for the last two years. His skill and good understanding with Biswajit up front kept the Midnapore defenders on their toes. Heritage Academy’s second goal was the result of a brilliant passing game between the two.

Another boy who played a key role in the Howrah school’s success was Bhaskar Patra, the goalkeeper. The Class XI student didn’t concede a single goal in the entire tournament.

Three crucial saves by Bhaskar in the tie-breaker of the district-level final against Konnagar High School took Heritage Academy to the final round of the all-Bengal tournament for the first time.

A fan of Iker Casillas, Bhaskar made a stunning save in the dying minutes of the final to deny the Midnapore school the chance of an equaliser. Bhaskar has been playing football for the last 10 years and dreams of guarding the net of his favourite Calcutta club Mohun Bagan.

“We are very happy since we lifted the trophy for the first time. All the boys practised hard for the tournament and everyone put in a great effort. I want to thank our rector, Soumya Sadhan Bose, for his constant support and encouragement to sports,” said Achintya Chongder, the games teacher at Heritage Academy High School.

In the junior category, Hartley Higher Secondary School clinched the winner’s trophy, beating Sunshine School, Park Circus, 1-0 in the final.

“This was only the second time we took part in the TTIS Shootout junior category and we are really excited to win it for the first time. The boys trained for one-and-a-half months before the tournament and their hard work paid off,” said Arokia Nathan Anthony, the physical education teacher of Hartley.