DOHA, QATAR
Portuguese Goans began their campaign in the Portugal Fans Qatar 4-team 6-a-side football tournament with an emphatic 4-1 win over Os Quinas at Awfaz Global School ground on Wednesday night.
In the other opening day matches, Portugal Fans Kerala won against Os Quinas 3-2 and drew 4-4 against Tungas.
The next round of the round robin league matches will be played at the same venue today and the semifinals and the final will take place on October 14. Goa next face Portugal Fans Kerala and Tungas in the next league matches.
On Wednesday night, the Goan boys did a good job of covering up the one-man disadvantage which fell upon them as goal scorer Oliver Joshua Bennis, who had picked a yellow card earlier, saw the red from the referee for an ‘intentional handball’ midway into the second half. With one-man short, the Goans rose to the challenge to hold their forte while scripting a comfortable win.
The Goans started off well with Nikhil D’Souza and Jaselbek Fernandes bringing their flair and experience into play, excelling in both defending and attacking play from deep down from their own half.
The Goans went into the lead in the 19th minute through Bennis and a minute later Anthony Carvalho added a second one. Os Quinas pulled one back two minutes later as Rui Miguel Almeida's long shot breach Craig’s defense in the Goan goal. The Goan goalkeeper however made amends with two splendid and standout goals.
Craig who played a perfect foil as libero scored one from a direct free kick from the centre circle catching the Os Quinas defense and goalkeeper unawares in the 26 minute and he scored a second goal catching his opposite number off guard in the 32, to make it 4-1. Thereafter, both the teams did not trouble the scorers.
On the other hand, the match between Portugal Fans Kerala and Tungas, an eight goal thriller, which ended in a 4-all draw, kept the scorers busy.
Andre Souza (15, 39), Pedro Souza (23), Paulo Marques (38) scored for Tungas while Murshad Basheer scored the first hat trick of the tournament notching goals in the 16, 26, 31 minutes. Huder Gazeed scored in the 33.
In the last match of the night, Portugal Fans Kerala defeated Os Quinas 3-2. Miguel Heitor scored both the goals for the losing team in the 26, and 37th minute.
The winners scored in the 1st minute and added a second one in the 6th minute and a third in the 20, Thaha opened the scoring, Shyam Pradeep Uppalakkal consolidated the lead and Murshad Basheer made it 3-0 until Quinas bounced back to pull two goals back.
The purpose of the Organizing Committee to hold the event is to "bring together, Portugal fans based in Qatar, regardless of nationality, who support and follow the Portuguese National Football Team Seleção das Quinas, in an organised football environment with a fair play spirit while competing for the best performance and best ranking position in the tournament."
"We wish all participants, including players and supporters, a great experience and fantastic moments during the football tournament. Let’s celebrate the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 spirit and atmosphere," organisers said about the tournament.
