MARGAO
Navelim Villagers Union pipped Curtorim Gymkhana 1-0 to storm into the semi-finals of the 13th Cana Benaulim Panchayat Cup inter-village football tournament, organised by UC Benaulim, at St John de Baptista ground, Benaulim, on Sunday.
The initial stages witnessed a midfield battle between Curtorim's Nickson Castanha and Navelim's young gun Ronaldo Pereira. Curtorim nearly broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute when Anselm Fernandes' attempted cross dipped viciously, cannoning off the crossbar with Navelim goalkeeper Jeet Gupta stranded.
The second half saw a shift in momentum as Navelim took the lead five minutes after the restart. A teasing left-wing cross from Velington Almeida evaded the Curtorim defense, finding Travis Souza. Souza played a smart ball to the unmarked Ronaldo Pereira, who slotted it past Curtorim custodian Prakash Joshi to make it 1-0.
Curtorim responded by upping the tempo and relentlessly attacking the Navelim defense. However, Navelim's defensive duo of Mallapa Bizzargi and Velinton Silva stood firm, particularly against Curtorim's dangerous forward Joywin Carneiro.
Nickson Castanha, who had an impressive game for Curtorim, almost snatched an equalizer with a curling free-kick, but Navelim goalkeeper Jeet Gupta produced a superb save to push it away with only six minutes left on the clock.
Navelim Villagers Union held on to secure the win, with their midfielder Ronaldo Pereira being adjudged the Man of the Match by former Benaulim goalkeeper Amilkar Babush Pereira.
