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RAIA: Nuvem SC showed nerves of steel as they booked their place in the final of 24th Fr Basilio Andrade memorial football tournament outplaying St Anthony’s FC, Assolda, in a nail-biting penalty shoot-out 8-7 to set up a clash with CAC Cansaulim at Musson ground, Majorda, on Monday.
St Anthony’s FC drew first blood witin seconds of kic-koff when Sunny Fernandes unleashed a speculative long-range effort that took a wicked deflection, completely wrong-footing the Nuvem SC keeper and nestling into the back of the net.
Nuvem SC’s response came in spectacular fashion. Royston Mascarenhas showed dazzling footwork inside the box – sending two defenders the wrong way – before rifling his shot past the helpless keeper to level the score just before halftime.
After the break, Nuvem SC carried their momentum forward. Alvito Dias slipped a precise pass through to Albino Pereira, but his attempted chip flew well off target.
As the clock ticked down, Alton Vaz almost produced late drama for St Anthony’s FC with a dipping volley that bounced awkwardly in front of the keeper, forcing a fingertip save. Seconds later, Fhezer Gomes tried his luck from a distance, his grounded strike skimming just wide of the far post. With nothing to separate the sides, the match was decided from the spot. Nuvem SC held their composure brilliantly – converting seven of their eight penalties – to seal their passage into the final.
Earlier, in a feisty semi-final encounter, CAC Cansaulim held their nerve to edge past Curtorim Gymkhana 1-0 and book their place in the final.
CAC Cansaulim struck early when Slevin D’Mello switched play beautifully to Domnic Soares, who showed incredible composure to lob the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper and give his side the lead which proved to be the winning goal.
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