PANAJI
It was an adrenaline-fuelled battle as 64 teams went head to head to secure their spot in the next round of the Red Bull Winning 5 tournament in India. The first edition of this one-of-a-kind football tournament brought some fast, nimble and quick-footed footballers of the city together at the Don Bosco College ground in the city.
The unique format of the game, with five members in a team and no goalkeeper, demanded wit and pressure tactics to defend the opponent from winning. Following the knock-out format, each game lasted for 10 minutes and got tougher as goals were scored and players were eliminated. Every time a team scores a goal, the other team loses a player.
The players did not disappoint as each of them put their best foot forward in an attempt to give their opponent a strong fight. In the end it came down to Queen of Angels and M7 Football Club, Panaji in the final face-off which would allow them to move on to the next leg of Red Bull Winning 5. The day culminated to an exhilarating end as Queen of Angels defeated M7 Football Club by two goals in the penalty shootout and finished as the winners of the qualifying stage of the tournament in Goa.
RESULT
Winners: Queen of Angels
Runners-up: M7 Football Club, Panaji
Queen of Angels 2 (Yogesh Naik, Jilroy Gonsalves) beat M7 Football Club, Panaji 0 on penalties
BLURB
The unique format of the game, with five members in a team and no goalkeeper, demanded wit and pressure tactics to defend the opponent from winning. Following the knock-out format, each game lasted for 10 minutes and got tougher as goals were scored and players were eliminated. Every time a team scores a goal, the other team loses a player
