MARGAO: Youth Futsal Academy (YFA), Margao came out as winners in a hard fought victory against Apollo 4-2 at the Little Gaurs League U-8 final organised by Forca Goa Foundation, at the Kings School ground, Sao Jose de Areal.
At the end of the league stage, Apollo topped the table and took on The Kings School while YFA met GFDC Navelim for a spot in the Final.
The semi-finals were keenly contested with Apollo and YFA both winning by just a single goal difference.
Apollo seemed up for the match right from kick-off and it did not take them long to open the scoring. Kiann Araujo curled in a fantastic left foot effort into the top corner from distance. YFA however responded immediately when Irwin Faleiro’s corner-kick was beautifully headed in by Soham Mane.
YFA had done their homework in ensuring the league’s top scorer Piyush Pratap did not get too much space close to goal and he had to settle for speculative shots from distance. Both teams went into the break with a goal a piece and all to play for in the second half.
YFA continued their tactic of keeping the midfield and defensive lines close while putting balls over the top for their nimble strikers Irwin and Soham to latch onto. That strategy paid off with Mane knocked in the second goal after receiving a pass from Irwin.
The goal boosted YFA and they took control of proceedings from then on. Captain Yohann put in another masterclass, topping his performance off with a brace. Apollo managed to get a late consolation as YFA in the end sealed a comfortable 4-2 victory.
Piyush Pratap from Apollo picked up the Best Player of the league award for his incredible tally of goals and his skill on the ball. Yohann Sousa of YFA and Emmanuel Gama of GFDC Navelim picked up the Most Promising Player awards for their brillinat displays throughout the league.
The Little Gaurs League which was started in November had 6 teams participating. Matches were conducted in a league cum knockout format with each team playing each other every Saturday and the top four teams qualifying for the play-offs.
