MERCES: Rosario Carvalho (Mithun) scored the only goal of the match as hosts SAI Veterans eased past Bardez Veterans 1-0 to enter the final of the Fifth Pogo Boys 50+ Veterans Cup at the Merces Church Ground, on Sunday.
Both sides started cautiously with the Bardez Veterans’ pairing of Alexander Fernandes and Alex Alvares creating some anxious moments for the SAI defence and Vikrant Sharma on goal.
But the experienced Baptist D’Mello proved a hard nut to crack as he manned the SAI Veterans’ defence with some swift tackles in the absence of former India and Salgaoncar defender, Franky Barreto.
As the game seemed to be heading for a first-half stalemate, SAI Veterans came up with a fortunate goal in the 20th minute when a clearance from a Bardez defender landed at the feet of Carvalho and the easiest of taps into an unmanned goal.
Bardez Veterans regrouped well in the second half and started making inroads with Alexander and Alex proving to be a constant threat to the home side defence. In fact, Alexander had a good strike headed towards the SAI goal, only to see an alert Sharma bring off a timely save and preserve the narrow lead.
SAI Veterans will now await the winners of the second semi-final today (Monday) that is scheduled to be played between Vasco Veterans and Verna Veterans.
