PANAJI
A gallant Fr. Agnel’s Higher Secondary School Verna bowed out of the 64th Subroto Cup International U17 Football Tournament when they went down 4-3 to Army Boys Coy in the penalty shoot-out in the quarter-finals at the Ambedkar Stadium here, on Monday.
Known for their attacking prowess in the group stages, Army Boys Coy attempted to break through Goa’s defense with long balls and quick forward runs. However, the backline of Alan Miranda, Elrich D’Silva, Snedden Vaz and Alvito Pereira stood tall and strong, reading the danger well and denying the opposition any clear shots on goal.
Fr. Agnel’s midfield trio of Jayden Pinto, Rohit Bangalore and Freden Mendes worked tirelessly, winning duels and providing strong support in both defense and attack. The wingers looked to create openings, but the Army Boys’ defense was quick to react and cleared any threats before they could materialise into goal-scoring chances for the Goans.
Both teams came up with half-chances to ultimately see the regulation period end goalless, thus forcing extra-time.
Three minutes into extra-time, the Goans nearly took the lead when Declan Monteiro beat the Army Boys’ right fullback and delivered a pinpoint cross into the box. Casvino Fernandes rose to meet the cross with a powerful header, but the effort went wide by just a few inches.
With even the extra-time failing to break the deadlock, the match had to be decided by the tie-breaker. Fr. Agnel HSS goalkeeper Rhyce Barreto pulled off an excellent save to give the Goan school the early advantage, even as Casvino, Jayden and Freden converted their spot kicks for a 3-2 edge.
However, the Army Boys’ goalkeeper produced two brilliant back-to-back saves to seal a win and a spot in Wednesday’s semi-finals.
“The result doesn’t do justice to our performance on the pitch. It was nice to see a lot of spectators and coaches come and praise our boys with this performance. I think we came out with our heads held high,” remarked team manager Frazer Fernandes.
