RAIA: Navelim Sporting clinched the 34th St Anne’s Festival inter-village soccer cup 2024 by defeating Don Bosco Oratory, Fatorda, 2-0 in the finals, organised by Ponda Footballers and held at the Animal Husbandry ground, Curti-Ponda, on Sunday.
The final, played on the feast day of their Patron St Anna, saw two South Goa title contenders compete in front of a crowd of over 1,000 spectators.
In the fifth minute, Fatorda’s Hanshlum Furtado missed an early opportunity to score. Ten minutes in, Navelim Sporting’s Meliston Dias saw his header miss the target, but five minutes later, Frenden Pires found the net with a neat placement, giving Navelim Sporting a 1-0 lead that they held onto until halftime.
In the second half, Don Bosco Oratory pushed to level the score but failed to capitalise on opportunities through Elroy Barreto, Hanshlum Furtado and Richie Vaz. Navelim Sporting also struggled to extend their lead, with Trevis, Anil and Rovan missing their chances. In the final minutes of the match, Fatorda’s Alfred Noronha squandered a chance to equalise when his volley sailed over the bar. In injury time, Noah Luis secured Navelim Sporting’s victory by scoring from the penalty area, leaving the Don Bosco goalkeeper with no chance.
Dr Ketan Bhatikar was the chief guest and presented the prizes in the presence of Fr Francisco Rosario, Parish Priest of St Anne Church, Ponda, Fr Hemant, Dr Rama Parab of Animal Husbandry, Paulo Vaz, Sandip Opkar and other dignitaries and club officials. Franky compered the function.
