Team Herald
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PANJIM: Stepelton Fernandes individual brilliance helped Holy Cross Sports Club Arambol record a huge 6-3 win over Pilerne Sports Club in the GFA Second Division League match played, at Poriat ground, Calangute, on Thursday.
The striker Stepelton scored three and also played a huge rule in the other three goals.
From the first whistle, Holy Cross players looked more confident and more promising on the field as they went all out for the win. They deservingly took the lead in the 15th minute but it was an Anish Fernandes own goal which put Holy Cross ahead in the game.
Stepelton doubled the tally in the 18th minute and scored the team’s third in the 34th minute recording his brace. Pilerne Sports Club had their moments in the game and pulled a goal back in the 41st through Anson D’Souza. But Holy Cross didn’t seem the side to sit back and relax with the two goal cushion as they attacked in numbers and successfully restored their three-goal lead as Stepelton completed his hat-trick just before the break.
The winners led 4-1 at the break. While Stepelton dominated the first session, the second session was all about Abraham Fernandes as the lad pumped in two goals with his first coming in the 64th minute. Pilerne SC came back strongly and managed to score two goals in two minutes as Creig Menezes and Anson scored respectively in the 70th and 72nd minutes to make it 3-5.
However, Abraham sealed the game completing his brace as he scored the team’s sixth in the 75th minute
Meanwhile at Ambelim ground, Varca Sports Club trounced St Sebastian Union Club, Benaulim 5-0 in an ill-tempered Second Division game.
Reeve D’Costa scored a brace for the winners but it was St Sebastian Union’s Joel Fernandes who was the highlight of the evening for his straight red card in the 73rd minute when he pushed the lines man. The referee showed a straight red thus reducing the Benaulim side down to 10 men when they were already trailing by two goals which were scored by Robinson Colaco in the first half and Reeve D’Costa’s 66th minute strike.
Once down by a man, St Sebastian were totally outplayed as Varca scored three more goals through Bapan C, Reeve D’Costa and Macklin M.
