BEACH SOCCER TOURNAMENT – DAY 3 – MATCH REPORT - QUARTER FINALS

Four qualifying teams from the pre-quarter finals put their soccer skills to test in the quarter finals at the Barefoot Beach Soccer Tournament. The quarter finals also saw an interesting change in the format of the game, and the four matches were played in three periods of 5 minutes each as opposed to the earlier two halves of 5 minutes each.

The first quarter final was played between Goa United (A) Vs Piedade Youth Association. The first goal of the match was scored by Avrhishto Fernandes from Goa United (A), thus taking the initial lead in the game. The second period saw two brilliant goals from both teams, scored by Ashley Lobo for Goa United and Remos Gomes for Piedade Youth Association, the match here still in favor of Goa United (A) leading with 2-1. The third and final period saw several brilliant saves from both the teams, as neither of them permitted a single goal in the 5 minute period. The final result consequently went in favor of the Goa United (A), making them the first team to qualify for the semi-finals.

The second match saw Goa’s local club FC Neura against Kerala’s Kasarkod team. Kasarkod from Kerala are in the lead in the first period of the match owing to a goal by Haris K. Post the first goal by Kasarkod, the match didn’t see much action for quite some time, until towards the end of the second period when Atish Madkaikar from FC Neura managed to score a goal, bringing his team in level with Kasarkod, Kerala. Following an injury to the goal-keeper of FC Neura, Kasarkod Kerala was quick enough in attacking its opponent’s weakness. With a corner by Sharafuddin and another goal by Mahammod, Kasarkod re-asserted its lead in the third period of the game. The match ended with a score of 3-1 in favor of Kasarkod Kerala, thus making it the only out-station team to have qualified for the Semi Finals.

The third quarter final was played between Calangute Association and JMJ. The first period ended with 0-0, as neither teams were able to score a single goal during the period. Calangute Association gave it’s supporters a chance to smile in the second period, as Mural Crasto managed to score with a free-kick, thus taking a lead over JMJ. The final score went in favor of Calangute Association as JMJ failed to make a mark even in the third period.

Culminating the lively day of tremendous beach soccer action, Goa Velha SC Vs ABC Arambol faced each other in a vigorous. From the very beginning, the match was dominated by ABC Arambol, as they made easy breaks through the Goa Velha SC defence. The first period saw two goals in favour of ABC Arambol, one being a self-goal by Melroy D’souza while the second was scored by Russel Fernandes. The third period began with some relief for the Goa Velha SC as Joy Gonsalves managed to score a goal for his team. But the sole goal from Goa Velha SC came too late in the match, and ABC Arambol went all out in a devastating attack against Goa Velha SC. With two more goals scored back-to-back by Blasco Rodrigues and Russel Fernandes, ABC Aramol qualified for the semi-finals with a convincing score of 4-1.

FIXTURES:

The semi-finals will be played on the 20^th February at 4:00 PM

Semi-finals – Match 1: Kasarkod Kerala vs Calangute Association – 4 PM

Semi-finals – Match 2: Goa United Vs ABC Arambol – 5 PM