Fr Agnel Multipurpose HS fail to qualify: Subroto Cup
Team Herald
sports@herald-goa.com
RAIA: Fr Agnel Multipurpose High School, Verna, were left to rue their missed chances as they bowed out of U-17 football competition at the 63rd Subroto Cup football tournament being held in New Delhi.
Despite staying unbeaten in their three Pool G matches, the team from South Goa ended their campaign with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against the Government Secondary School, Monigong, Arunachal Pradesh, to miss out narrowly on qualifying to the quarter-finals.
Competing in Pool G alongside teams from Arunachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep and Jharkhand, Fr Agnel Multipurpose HS finished with two draws and a win to end their campaign with five points and finish in second spot from the pool.
Going all out for a win against the Government Secondary School, the team from Goa fought hard and well for a 1-1 draw that was not enough for them to finish on top of their pool.
The first half saw both teams mount well-planned attacks, and despite holding the upper hand, Fr Agnel Multipurpose High School missed at least three goal-scoring opportunities. In the third minute, Walton Fernandes missed a sitter in front of goal following a beautiful pass from hard-working Alex Fernandes.
Four minutes later, Walton’s well-struck kick sailed over the cross piece, and then in the 15th minute, Alex saw his kick end up into the waiting hands of the rival goalkeeper.
After the break, the school from Arunachal Pradesh came out all guns blazing and rightly took the lead in the 48th minute Mudang Lanyo found the back of the Fr. Agnel net.
After that goal, the team from Arunachal Pradesh worked on their defence, thus allowing the Goa team to mount attack after attack. Fr Agnel Multipurpose High School worked hard in search of an equaliser and finally managed one only in the second minute of injury time when Ismail Nayak came up with a crafty placement following a deft ball from Allan Miranda from the right wing.
The team from Goa had a wonderful opportunity to secure an outright win in the very next minute as Jaden Pinto and Alex Fernandes combined well before being denied in the nick of time by an alert central defender of the Arunachal Pradesh team.
Luis Barreto, the manager and chief coach of the team was proud of what the boys had gained through this experience of playing at the inter-school level in a national competition.
“There are so many life lessons here, and I am glad these youngsters came all the way here to experience these. This same squad of players can look forward to a much better tournament next year,” Barreto remarked.
“We are eternally grateful to the support that I and my coaching staff have received from the fathers of the management of Fr Agnel Ashram,” he added.