the goan I network
MARGAO
Salgaocar Colts is one of the clubs in Goa which has a sound youth development programme and the Under 18 team went down fighting to East Bengal 2-1 in the semi-final but coach Anthony Levino Pereira was not disappointed by the outcome. “If we look at all the matches then I am satisfied by the overall performance of the boys. They gave their everything, fought very hard but we were so unlucky in some crucial moments and we lost,” stated Pereira who had to do without two key of his influential defenders Robert Noronha and Joval Allister Dias.
Noronha was nursing a knee injury while Joval was suspended for the match. Despite the problems in the rearguard, Salgaocar Colts had East Bengal on the ropes and had not striker Liston Colaco’s blistering effort banged the upright, the story would have been diferent. Salgaocar coach Anthony Pereira also blamed the schedule of the match which was played under a searing sun. “We played the match in the afternoon and the hot and humid conditions affected the boys. The weather conditions were not suitable and the dehydration took a lot of energy out of the boys as the playing connditions were not suitable,” explained Pereira and stated that the All India Football Federation should plan a schedule which will be comfortable to the team and the young players. The I-League Under 18 previously known as I-League Under 19 is the top level of youth football in India. It is contested between the under 18 sides of the I-League teams. The league was founded as the Under 19 league in 2011 which was to give youth teams of the I-League a national league to play in as at that time the I-League youth teams only played in state youth leagues. Clubs fielded Under-19 teams. Sixteen teams were split into four groups of four with only one group containing only three teams.
At the end of the season, the top team from the group stage would move onto the final group stage with the other group winners playing each other once. The inaugural winners were JCT. The competition name was changed in 2012 to the I-League U20 because many U-20 players in the league were not getting any time in the senior teams. Teams would play those within their own group twice and again the top teams would move into the final group. The U-20 title, however, only lasted for two seasons before the AIFF decided to switch the tournament back to an under-19 tournament from 2014 onwards. From 2014, the format was changed where the tournament was divided into five region-based zones, namely, Kolkata, Mumbai, Shillong, Goa and Rest of India. The Under 18 I-League serves as a platform for the talented footballers to prove their skills and to showcase their abilities. It has been the launching pad for many talented footballers.Verna lift St Rock’s Cup
