MARGAO
Navelim Sporting Club secured a spot in the quarter-finals of the 52nd Custodio Memorial Football Tournament with a solid 2-1 win over Shiroda Youth Club on Saturday. The tournament, organised by Raia Sporting Club, was held at the Panchayat ground in Raia.
Just five minutes in, Noah Luis opened the scoring after a smart assist from the ever-impressive Rovan Pereira. The lead was quickly doubled in the 8th minute when Rehan Sayed finished clinically, putting Navelim firmly in control.
Shiroda Youth Club, however, showed resilience. Their standout player, Elias Colaco, came close to scoring but missed a crucial opportunity. Navelim maintained their 2-0 advantage at the break, thanks in part to disciplined defending and tactical guidance from coach Alexio Fernandes.
After the restart, Shiroda upped the pressure, with Myron driving their efforts from midfield. Their persistence paid off in the 75th minute, when Royston Vaz pulled a goal back to make it 2-1.
In a tense finish, Navelim missed a golden one-on-one opportunity to seal the match in stoppage time. Shiroda almost grabbed a dramatic equaliser in the dying seconds when Royston’s free-kick struck the post and landed safely in the hands of the Navelim goalkeeper.
The Man of the Match award was presented to Rehan Sayed of Navelim SC by chief guest Jacinta Dias.
