Goan teams taste sweet victories

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KUWAIT CITY, Oct 16: Goan clubs in Kuwait have worked hard over the years to carve a niche in Indian football and keep their flag flying high.

United Goan Centre have been in the forefront for over 4 decades with their slogan ‘Friendship Through Sports’, while GOA Maroons is the most popular club in the Gulf – still going strong.

Goan teams United Goan Centre and GOA Maroons tasted sweet victories in the Kuwait Indian Football Federation (KIFF) organized Premier League for JP D’Mello Trophy played at Bayan grounds.

United Goan Centre (UGC) thrashed Goa Football Club (GFC) 5-0 while Maroons beat FC Sparx 2-0.

UGC started off well scoring two quick goals early into the match. GFC had a couple of opportunities in the first half; however their strikers could not finish off.   At the start of the second half too GFC should have scored and equalized the match instead but their strikers kept missing the target.  At the end, the match finished with a score of 5-0 in favor of UGC. 

Abhil scored 2 goals, while Ruming, Anas and Kishore scored 1 goal each.

Abhil of UGC was adjudged man of the match presented at the hands of UGC President Tony Alphonso.

FC Sparx took on GOA Maroons in the second match of the day. 

FC Sparx, known for their beautiful passing game dominated possession in the match. Their midfield was very strong and skillful. However, Maroons played counter attacking football and were cautious not to concede any goals.

Both teams failed to test the goalkeepers early on but Maroons knew from experience how to win maximum points. It was all settled with two corner kicks and two goals for Maroons scored by Steven and Carlton. Peter of GOA Maroons who took the vital corner kicks was adjudged man of the match presented by Cajetan Pereira. Matches were officiated by KIFF Referees namely Christopher, Bawa, Rosario, Bernard, Robert, Clarence and George.

The KIFF season is sponsored by M/s Gulf Cable & Electrical Industries Co.

The league is the major competition for participating teams played in two groups for a round-robin league.

Top 4 teams from each group will qualify for a home-and-away type double-match semifinal knockout.

The season will culminate with a grand finale scheduled for April 17, 2020.  Participating clubs for the league include: AVC Sports & Cultural Assc, All Kerala Football Club (AKFC), Don Bosco Oratory, FC Sparx, GOA Maroons, Goa FC, Indian Strikers, Pen Friends United, Jahra XI, Warriors FC, United Goan Centre.

Fixtures on Oct 18, 2019 are as follows:

6:45 am – Don Bosco Oratory vs Jahra XI FC

8:00 am – AVC vs Warriors FC

9:00 am – AKFC vs Indian Strikers FC United Goan Centre will be the day’s organizers.

By Gasper Crasto

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