The Goan Network
Panaji
The sixth day of action saw a new marquee player with Cafu filling in for the departed Ronaldinho, for the Goa 5s who defeated Paul Scholes' Bengaluru 5s 3-0. Meanwhile Michel Salgado and Falcao played out a thrilling encounter as Kochi 5s came back to record a 3-3 draw against Chennai 5s.
Scholes ended the campaign without a win under his belt as Bengaluru were eliminated in the group stages.
Cafu took no time to adjust as he helmed the defense with authority allowing his team-mates the freedom to rove forward at will. It took his team only 10 minutes to find the first goal as Michael Silva made no mistake the second time, after his first shot was saved by Elias in goal.
While the second quarter remained goalless, Goa doubled their advantage in the third within a minute. After receiving a pass from Vampeta, Rafael Silva who was awarded the Man of the Match made no mistake as he drilled it in from close range.
The final quarter saw Bengaluru desperate for the goal with the goalkeeper at the half line to initiate attacks. However that too yielded little as Goa had the last laugh as they scored their third with Vampeta burying in a penalty in the 39th minute.
The victory sees Goa leapfrog Kolkata as winners of Group B.
The Group A encounter between Kochi 5s and Chennai 5s was a much more thrilling affair with Falcao's side establishing an early advantage in the second quarter, after a goalless first quarter through Romulo and Camilo which saw them go into half time with a 2-0 advantage.
However an explosive last few minutes in the fourth quarter saw four goals with Kochi equalising through rapid fire strikes from Nannda and Chaguinha.
Chennai were not done though, as they got their lead back through a powerful effort from Romulo. Kochi were however not done and secured their semi-final berth after Chaguinha scored a late late equaliser tying the game at 3-3.
The stalemate sees Kochi finish as runners up behind Mumbai in Group A.
