RAIA: Don Bosco Oratory, Fatorda, defeated Sao Jose de Areal Sports Club by 3-1 to storm to the final of 17th All Goa Guirdolim Panchayat Cup organised by Guirdolim Club at Chandor church sports complex ground, on Saturday.
In an exhilarating showdown which was worthy of a semi-final, Don Bosco Oratory and Sao Jose de Areal played end to end football much to the delight of a large gathering.
It was Areal who started on a positive note and almost got the lead in the 3rd minute but Listen D’Costa’s effort missed the target by whiskers.
Areal squandered another easy chance in the 7th minute when a through ball by Rayman was latched on to by Arean Endro whose placement shot was pushed for a corner by a diving Karol Soares under the Don Bosco Oratory crossbar. For Don Bosco Oratory, in the 12th minute, a long ball by Cliff Barretto found Elroy with ample of space and time but he ballooned his shot over. Elroy was guilty of missing at least another two scoring opportunities in the first session. For Areal, Navil was rock solid in defence. At the break, both teams were level 0-0.
Changing over, both teams were equally matched with Don Bosco Oratory making early moves with Hanslum and Elroy combining well but they could not get past Areal keeper Joseph, who made some good saves.
For Areal, Aryan who came in as a substitute tried his luck from a distance in the 45th minute only to see his effort thunder off the crossbar, a rebound back into play.
In the 47th minute, a volley from top of the box by Rayman of Areal drew a full stretch save from Karol Soares. Good goalkeeping by both keepers ensured the match ended goalless at the end of regulation time.
In the resultant tie-breaker, Velton, Hanslum and Cliff scored for Don Bosco Oratory while only Navil was successful for Areal. Don Bosco Oratory will now meet Verna SC in the final on December 10.
Karol Soares, goalkeeper of Don Bosco Oratory was awarded the man-of-the-match by Brian Pereira, vice-president of Guirdolim Club.
