G.O.A ROLLING TROPHY
KERALA CHALLENGERS, REAL BETALBATIM IN
FINALS
United Friends Club and AVC make exit
Real
Betalbatim made it to their first ever major final when they upset United
Friends Club 2-0, while in an earlier match Kerala Challengers subdued a strong
AVC Sports & Cultural Association 1-0 in the semi finals of the 19th
edition of the ongoing G.O.A Rolling Trophy organized by Goan Overseas
Association (Goa Maroons) and played at the MOH Grounds in Shuwaikh on 15th
February 2013 under the auspices of Kuwait Indian Football Federation.
On a
cold morning in a chaotic semi-final, with tampers flying high, and where
referee Pascoal had to give marching orders to one players from either side,
Kerala challengers scored in the 14th minute of the first half when Fajillu
Maveli’s feeble attempt in a goalmouth melee saw the ball rolling in the AVC
goal with goalkeeper Alvaro caught off guard and his defenders flatfooted. The second half saw AVC make a number of
attempts with Savio, Anthony and Sydney coming close to scoring, but the strong
Kerala defence led by Sumesh Valappil and Arun Appukuttan ensured the scored
remained 1-0 in their favour. Kerala Challengers also won a few fans when they
came back on the field to play out the last five minutes of the game when the
referee had accidentally ended the match five minutes before time. The match was officiated by Pascoal and he
was assisted by Sharma and Tiago on the lines.
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| Kerala Challengers in finals |
In
the second semi-final title favourites United Friends Club suffered a shock
defeat when Real Betalbatim fielding a couple of extremely talented youngsters
and led by their crafty and experienced defender Theodore Pinto plummeted them
into submission 0-2. Real Betalbatim
playing tidy soccer with Denzil, Bradley, and Assemcao feeding off each other,
scored the first goal in the 10th minute when a UFC defender handled
the ball in the penalty area and Bradley Rogtao coolly slotted past a diving
Martin Dias in the UFC goal. In the
second half, although Jamnas and Hemanth of UFC made a couple of attempts, the
Real Betalbatim defence held firm with their keeper pulling of a couple of
excellent saves. The second goal that
virtually killed off the UFC challenge came in the 15th minute of
the second half when an attempt by a Real Betalbatim forward deflected off defender
Teotonio into the UFC goal. The referee
had to caution as many as six players, three from either side to keep the game from
getting out of control. The match was
officiated by Julio Cardoso and he was assisted by Sharma and Tiago in the
lines.
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| Real Betalbatim in their first final |
The final
of this prestigious tournament now into its 19th edition between
Kerala Challengers and Real Betalbatim will be played on 8th March
2012 at 8:45am.
Julio
Cardoso
Kuwait
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