RAIA: Curtorim Gymkhana overcame Parish Youth Nuvem 1-0 to advance into the final of the FC Raia Cup.
Curtorim scored early in the semi-final match which was played at Raia Panchayat ground on Sunday.
The only goal of the game was struck by Josley Gomes as he capitalised on a Nuvem defence that was caught off guard to hand them an early lead.
It was an early advantage and they created a series of chances in the first half to try and take control of the match. Parish Youth Nuvem recovered from the early setback and started to create chances of their own but Curtorim were successfully containing the Nuvem attackers and also kept creating chances.
Jessel Carneiro came close to extending the lead when he curled a free-kick from 30 yards out that was palmed away by the Nuvem goalkeeper.
Nuvem had a chance towards the end of the half when Jerose Oliveira combined with Stephen Colaco to open up the Curtorim defence but their goalkeeper managed to stifle the danger. Curtorim went into half-time with a well deserved lead.
Nuvem had an early chance in the second half when they won a free-kick in a promising position. However, Inacio Colaco blazed the shot over the bar.
Curtorim looked content on sitting back and defending and taking their chances and the onus was on Nuvem to get back into the game. Jerose tried to pick out teammate Royan Alvares with a through ball but the forward couldn’t reach the ball. This was the script in the second half. When Curtorim did attack, they threatened the Nuvem defence.
Jessel drew an important save from the Nuvem keeper when his stinging shot was spilled by the keeper. The defenders cleared the danger before a Curtorim player could tap in the rebound.
Nuvem had a series of free-kick and corners but Curtorim managed to maintain their lead. Curtorim had to thank their goalkeeper for a brilliant one handed save when he denied Standly Colaco who tried a volley from six yards out.
The move came from a corner when Inacio headed the corner into the path of Standly who nearly levelled terms with ten minutes remaining. Hayson Velho missed a glorious opportunity when he found himself unmarked in the box and the ball bouncing in front of him. But the attacker couldn’t connect as he fluffed the shot before being cleared away. Despite a flurry of attacks, the ball wouldn’t go into the net for Nuvem as they lost the match to Curtorim. On Tuesday, Cuncolim Union will face Raia Football Club in their quarter-final fixture.
