PANJIM: Salgaocar Football Club’s under-18’s made it a near clean sweep for the club in the GFA age group tournaments as they were crowned champions of the GFA under-18 league after the final game of the season which saw them overcome Dempo Sports Club, 1-0 at the TB Cunha sports complex, Cansaulim, on Thursday.
Having sealed the title with a game to spare, coach Anthony Levino Pereira chose to ring in as many as six changes from the side that beat The Golden Eagles 3-1 only a couple of days prior. He also handed a start to talented 14-year old keeper, Dylan D’Silva.
The champions finished their league engagements with a total of 25 points from a possible 30, having only drawn and lost once in 10 outings. What makes the triumph even more impressive is the fact that one of the participating teams in the league was the AIFF Elite Academy U-18 team, essentially the National U-18 team, who finished runner-up.
With a lot of the younger members of the squad given some playing time, the game failed to rise to any real heights. As has been evident from the previous Salgaocar U-18 encounters, short passing has been a hallmark with the flanks being used to good effect. The ball was mostly confined to the midfield and there was genuinely a lack of scoring opportunities.
The all-important goal was scored in the 27th minute of the game, when a cross from the right saw defender Shayne Rodrigues try to clear, but unfortunately turn the ball into his own net.
For several of these lads, it is their second triumph inside 24 hours as they also featured in the club’s U-20 team that lifted the Taca Goa, on Wednesday evening. It there was any debate on the club with the best youth development system in the State, if not the country, that was firmly put to bed with Salgaocar FC’s juniors having landed four of the five trophies this season.
