G.O.A ROLLING TROPHY - WEEK 2

SKYNET RAIDERS, DBO AND YRC RISING STARS WIN

Skynet Raiders, Don Bosco Oratory and YRC Rising Stars were through to the next round after squeezing in wins in the first round of the GOA Rolling Trophy organized by Goan Overseas Association on Friday at MOH grounds under the auspices of KIFF.

In easily the match of the day, Goa Maroons woeful season continued when they were beaten by a youthful Don Bosco Oratory (DBO) in a five goal thriller.  Maroons started the match positively when   Steven Rodrigues easily one of the best players on the field scored in the 14^th minute of the first half from a free kick taken by Edward.  Godfrey equalized in the second half for DBO when the Maroons defense failed to clear from a corner kick.  Extra time witnessed high drama as Nikhil D’Souza slit one past Anton in the Maroons goal and Steven Rodrigues equalized immediately after that with an exquisite free kick from the edge of the penalty area giving DBO goalkeeper Alidio absolutely no chance.  Aston Fernandes who came in as a super sub however broke the hearts of Goa Maroons supporters when he was in the right spot in the dying moments of extra time to jab in from close range in a goalmouth melee, giving his team a well deserved 3-2 victory.   IFRA referee Francis Fernandes did an excellent job in the center and he was assisted by Sarto Baptista and Tiago Fernandes on the lines.

DON BOSCO ORATORY

GOA MAROONS

 

Earlier, the fragile but artful striker of Skynet Raiders Joe Gomes who fashions himself like his  idol Nymar of Brazil, scored in the 10^th minute of the second half to give his team a hard fought 1-0 victory against unlucky FC Sparz.  The match was evenly played with Sparz creating some early chances, but the lack of attempts at goal and playing one pass too many was their undoing.  The centre referee was Pascoal Fernandes and he was assisted by Lloyd D’Souza and Sarto Baptista on the lines.

SKYNET RAIDERS

FC SPARZ

In the last match of the day YRC Rising Stars edged Real Betalbatim FC 1-0.  Ever dependable charismatic Bernardo Pires struck in the 15^th minute of the first half after dodging his way past two defenders and smashing one past the outstretched hands of the RBFC goalkeeper.  The match was officiated by Tiago Fernandes.

YRC RISING STARS

REAL BETALBATIM FC

There will be no matches played this coming Friday, and the tournament will continue on 25/4/2014 with AVC Sports & Cultural Association playing Kuwait Goan Association at 6:45am, followed by Kerala Challengers taking on Curtorcares United and 8:00am and the last match of the day will feature the first quarter final between Santos United and United Goans Centre.

Report & Pics by: Julio Cardoso (Kuwait)

G.O.A ROLLING TROPHY

G.O.A ROLLING TROPHY

UGC, SANTOS UNITED AND UFC WIN

United Goans Centre, Santos United and United Friends Club were through to the next round after winning hard fought encounters in the first round of the GOA Rolling Trophy organized by Goan Overseas Association on Friday at MOH grounds under the auspices of KIFF.

Goalkeeping errors were the talking point of the day and in the first match, Kuwait’s oldest Goan soccer club, United Goans Centre shocked Indian Strikers 2-1 when Dominic Fernandes headed home from close range from an exquisite cross by veteran Jerry Mello in the 18^th minute and Alfred’s feeble attempt on the Indian Strikers goal ended in the back of the net due to a communication error between the keeper and defenders of Indian Strikers.  Hard working Noushad Abu Baker reduced the margin for Indian Strikers in the 65^th minute, but United Goans defended well to absorb all the pressure in the dying minutes from Indian Strikers and emerge victorious.  The match was officiated by IFRA official Julio Cardoso with assistance from Christopher and Simon.

United Goans Centre won 2-1

Santos United who have played some exciting soccer towards the end of this season, were down a goal against DHL FC in the 24^th minute when Cruz Silva’s smashing drive found the back of the net and it seemed like DHL would cause a major upset.  However, super sub, James Rebello equalized for Santos United in the 64^th minutes when the UFC goalkeeper fumbled and dropped the ball and Anthony Rego scored from an acute angle in the dying minutes of extra time to earn Santos United a hard fought victory.  Pascoal was the centre referee and assisted by Sharma and Christopher on the lines.

Santos United won 2-1 in extra time

In the day’s last match of this prestigious tournament now in it’s 20^th edition, United Friends Club (UFC) finally played to their potential when they edged Malabar United 1-0.  Duarte Ferrao, Prince and Shehin were the stars for UFC, but it was Mauricio Simoes who turned hero of the day when he scored the all important goal for his team in the 22^nd minute.   The Malabar boys had their chances but were unfortunate not to convert.  The match was officiated by Sarto Baptista with Francis and Simon on the lines.

United Friends Club winners 1-0

Next week will see some exciting matches with  FC Sparx taking on Skynet Raiders at 6:45am, Don Bosco Oratory play Goa Maroons at 8:00am and Real Betalbatim FC play YRC Rising Stars at 9:15am.  All teams are requested to report on time.

Report & pics  by: Julio Cardoso

AVC – KUWAIT CHAMPIONS OF KIFF PRESIDENTS’ CUP 2014. RETAINS KIFF SEASONS CHAMPIONSHIP 2014

AVC – Kuwait won the inaugural edition of the ‘’KIFF PRESIDENTS’ CUP 2014’’ defeating Santos United 2-1 in a pulsating final held on 28^th March 2014 at the Al Sabah Hospital grounds in Kuwait.

The opening ceremony of the finals was at its grandest best with the presence of ex KIFF Presidents as Guests of Honor and the Presidents of all the affiliates as Special Invitees. The Chief Guest Mr. Fidelis Fernandes the incumbent KIFF President and the guests were introduced to both the teams. The Chief Guest and KIFF President Mr. Fidelis Fernandes in his speech thanked all the past Presidents of KIFF for promoting football for the last three decades among the Indian diaspora in the State of Kuwait. The national anthems of Kuwait and India were relayed to inspire devotion and patriotism among those present in the stadium before the start of the match. The ex KIFF Presidents attending the ceremony were Mr. V.K. Vohra, Mr. Lawrence Pinto, Mr. Victor Mesquita, Mr. Tony Dias, Mr. Tony Correia, Mr. Manuel D’Costa and Mr. B.M. Viegas. Chief Sports Editor of Arab Times Mr. Francis Fernandes was among the guests for the finals.

As the opening programme settled down AVC – Kuwait and Santos United began their duel to claim the honors for the coveted trophy. Santos United, in their best form of their lives and playing in the their first ever finals were out to prove themselves. AVC Kuwait, the most consistent team so far were targeting the inaugural edition as well as season’s championship in their ever bulging kitty. The initial period was dominated by AVC and they took the lead in the 4^th minute when defender Joseph connected a perfect corner from Braulio into the net. Santos came back in to the game with their Captain and experienced former Salgaocar medio Tiago dominating the midfield. He fed his strikers with precision and in one move AVC were lucky not to concede when a powerful shot from John Costa hit the post and came back in to play. By now Santos were in complete dominance putting AVC on back foot with John, Tiago and Honda in cruise control. Santos equalized midway in the second half when a free kick from Tiago was guided in by Anthony Rego. In the second half AVC introduced their former Western Railways medio Luciano to strengthen the midfield and this masterstroke helped AVC to gain dominance with Savio, Luciano, Ismael and Agnel Martin in the midfield dictating. AVC took the lead again from a set piece when Agnel Martin’s shot hit the bar and came back to Captain Savio whose volley again hit the horizontal and the rebound fell to AVC’s star striker Anthony who expertly sent it back in to the net to make it 2-1. With this goal AVC were in ascendancy and attacked the opposition, but could not increase the lead further. Santos tried their best to equalize and almost did when a miss pass caught AVC’s defense off guard and a lurking Santos striker hit the post. The last few minutes of the game were controlled by AVC to see the match off and came out as winners. It is to be noted that both the teams along with their officials showed good camaraderie on and off the play during the finals. The match proceedings were conducted by Mubarak with Julio and Sarto on the lines.

Indian strikers were awarded the Fair play Trophy. The trophies and mementos were handed over by Mr. V.K Vohra, Mr. Victor Mesquita, Mr. Shyam Kumar, Mr. Dominick Pereira, Mr. Agnelo D’Cunha, Mr. Derrick Gomendis and Mr. Fidelis Fernandes.

It has been later announced that with this win AVC – Kuwait have been declared KIFF Season’s Champions for 2014. This is the 6^th time AVC – Kuwait has bagged this championship, the last was in 2013.

Earlier before the finals, KIFF conducted 3 a side open tie-breaker tournament in which 32 teams participated. The finals were won by Livrament Boys defeating Santos Football Club.

Winners and Runners Up, Fair Play and Man of the Match trophies for the tournament were sponsored by KIFF President Mr. Fidelis Fernandes. Winners individual mementos were sponsored by United Logistics Co. Runners Up individual mementos were sponsored by Real Betalbatim Football Club. Mr. Bernard Fernandes, Kevin Vaz and Julio Cardozo conducted the day’s proceedings. KIFF would like to thank the sponsors, guests, affiliates, Arab Times, Indiansinkuwait for making this tournament a great success. All the matches were supervised by IFRA.

Goan Overseas Association (GOA Maroons) will be conducting their 11 a side tournament under the auspices of KIFF starting on 4^th April 2014. The schedule is at 6.45 am Indian Strikers v/s United Goans Club. At 8am DHL v/s Santos United and at 9.15 and United Friends v/s Malabar United.

Report by: Xavier Furtado
Pics by: Revon Gomes / Julio Cardoso