Team Herald
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VASCO: Tuff Laxmi Prasad Sports Club thrashed spirited Salgaocar FC Juniors 5-2, who fought valiantly until the end in the final, to clinch the 13th Police Cup organised by Goa Police at Tilak Maidan, Vasco, on Wednesday.
The winners led 2-0 at the breather. Salgaocar Juniors gave their best to match up with full strength of Tuff Laxmi Prasad team which fielded Climax Lawrence, Micky Fernandes, Nicholas Rodrigues, Biju Kumar and Nigerian striker N.D. Opara.
In the first quarter, the ball was mostly confined to the midfield and no real clear cut chances were created. Tuff Laxmi Prasad did however break the deadlock in the 27th minute. A corner from the left resulted in a goal mouth melee with the ball falling for Biju Kumar who was well placed to slot home.
Salgaocar could have drawn level eight minutes later but spurned a glorious opportunity as Naro Hari’s spot kick crashed against the upright and went out. This after the player was brought down by keeper Kunal Sawant. Tuff Laxmi Prasad did most of the running but had to resort to shooting from distance as the Salgaocar defence held firm.
Tuff Laxmi Prasad however did match to double their lead just before the breather as a fierce free-kick taken by Micky from about 25 yards out saw Rohan Sheikh pull off a fine save. However, Nicholas who was lurking slotted home the rebound.
Salgaocar Juniors did come out in the second period looking to find a way through the Tuff Laxmi Prasad defence and managed to create a number of opportunities. Harmanjot Singh on the right in particular kept the rival defence on their toes sending in some fine crosses. On one such occasion, Naro failed to make decent contact and the ball was scrambled out. Minutes later, Myron Borges had a shy but Kunal was up to the task.
In the 70th minute, Tuff Laxmi Prasad scored a third when a wicked deflection off a free-kick landed at the feet of Mackroy Peixoto, who found the back of the net from close range. Despite trailing by three goals to a far superior side, Salgaocar Juniors weren’t about to give up without a fight. Harmanjot controlled beautifully on the box, beat his man and smashed the ball to the right of Kunal leaving him rooted.
At 3-1, The Greens went all out and almost pulled back another, but Myron’s effort was smartly saved by the Tuff Laxmi Prasad keeper. The game was put beyond The Greens when the rivals scored two in quick succession in the 83rd and 85th minutes, first through Agnelo Colaco and later through Opara.
Salgaocar did score their second in the 90th minute when Stefen Fernandes brought down beautifully a cross from Raja from the left and smashed home with his left foot. Despite being on the wrong side of a 5-2 scoreline, Salgaocar Juniors exceeded all expectations by making it to the final and overall showing a wonderful performance.
The winners took home a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh and trophy while runners-up were richer by Rs 1 lakh plus trophy. Mackroy Peixoto was awarded the Man-of-the-Match. Nicholas Fernandes of Churchill Brothers finished tournament’s highest goal scorer.
Speaking to Herald, Tuff Laxmi Prasad coach Valentino informed he was happy with his team’s superb performance and the first victory.
Salgaocar Juniors coach Levino Pereira disclosed that his team played an attacking football to put pressure on the rivals and in the bargain also missed four goals.
Chief guest Minister for Power Milind Naik gave away the prizes in the presence of Director General of Police T.N. Mohan.
Earlier, Vinod Parkot welcomed the guests. Domnic D’Souza compered while Nitin Bandekar proposed the vote of thanks.
