Team Goemkarponn
Raia: St Anthony SC Assolda booked their place in the semifinals of the 52nd Custodio Memorial Football Tournament after a dramatic 7-6 victory via tiebreaker against Navelim Sporting Club at the Raia Panchayat Ground.
The closely-fought quarterfinal clash saw both sides creating early chances. Jayson Coutinho of Navelim missed a golden opportunity to open the scoring in the 6th minute. Minutes later, a swift counter-attack by Cajetan Fernandes of St Anthony SC Assolda almost found the mark but his shot narrowly missed the target in the 10th minute.
It was Roland Pereira of Navelim Sporting who finally broke the deadlock in the 35th minute, nodding in a glancing header to give his team a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
St Anthony SC Assolda regrouped in the second half and struck back almost immediately. In the 46th minute, Moises D’Sa displayed composure and vision as he finished off a clever attacking move with a well-placed shot to level the scores at 1-1.
With neither side able to find the winner in regulation time, the match headed to a tense penalty shootout.
St Anthony SC Assolda converted their spot-kicks through Myron Fernandes, Akram Yadwad, Richard Fernandes, Moises D’Sa, Velentinho Carvalho, and Drayan Fernandes, while Navelim responded with goals from Myron Gomes, Joyson Coutinho, Ronaldo Pereira, Noah Luis, and Sadroy Costa. However, St Anthony held their nerve, edging out Navelim 7-6 in the shootout.
Dr. Errol Rodrigues, the chief guest for the match, presented the Man of the Match award to Richard Fernandes of St Anthony SC Assolda for his stellar performance.
With this win, St Anthony SC Assolda continue their impressive run and march confidently into the semifinals of the prestigious tournament.
