Team Herald
sports@herald-goa.com
RAIA: Philip Ferrao struck the lone goal of the match as Goa Veterans picked up the gold medal in football against Uttarakhand at the 4th Khelo Masters Games played at the Commonwealth Games Stadium in Khelgaon, New Delhi, on Sunday.
With the final heading towards the tie-breaker, the former Churchill Brothers midfield maestro struck from well outside the area to beat the Uttarakhand goalkeeper hands down and seize the match-winner for Goa Veterans.
Led by former Customs defender Alberto Pinheiro, the Goa Veterans comprising players over 60 years played some delightful football before a sizeable crowd.
The Goa Veterans defence of Maurice Fernandes, former MPT player Gill Soares, former Salgaoncar star Minguel Miranda and Pinheiro doing a wonderful job while keeping former Goa Police goalkeeper Prakash Naik’s goal intact.
The Goan midfield compromising former Vasco and MPT star Agnelo Fonseca, man-of-the-match Philip, Eddie Fernandes and Mahesh Karapurkar worked like a well-oiled machine allowing Andrew Theodosio and Rubio Vaz to constantly threaten the Uttarakhand goal. Both, Theodosio and Ferrao were unlucky as they came close to scoring, only to see their efforts hit the crossbar on one occasion each.
Finally, Philip came to the rescue of the Goa Veterans when his snap shot from more than 25 yards in the 18th minute caught the Uttarakhand goalkeeper napping for what proved to be the match-winner.
The Khelo Masters Games Foundation is an emerging Masters Games foundation that came into existence in 2018 with an intention of making the society and community aware of the benefits of sports for health and overall wellness of people still interested in sport.
The aim of the foundation is to keep the sporting spirit alive in all Master athletes, especially middle-aged sportspersons by sharing a platform where they can revive the golden moments of their lives through active participation in sports at different levels.
Nearly 2,300 athletes participated in the fourth edition of the Khelo Masters Games that concluded in New Delhi.