'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The third day of the Barefoot Beach Soccer Championship that is being hosted at the scenic Calangute beach saw a tremendous splurge in excitement, both from the participants and the audiences alike. The pre-quarter finals and quarter finals of the championship went on till the wee hours of the night, but the energy only kept increasing with every passing hour. Listed below are the results of the first four pre-quarter final matches; we will be sharing the results of the other matches shortly.
The day commenced with an action-packed pre-quarter final match between Santa Cruz Cavelossim against Goa United (A). Both the teams, fresh and confident from their earlier round victories in the last two days, went for the goal from the word go! In the first few minutes of the match, Samson Fernandes of Santa Cruz Cavelossim scored a goal. The Goa United (A) team was keen on leveling things soon, which led to a very aggressive attack on the Santa Cruz Cavelossim goal and despite some brilliant saves from their keeper, Ashley Lobo from Goa United (A) managed to level scores. The match was just moving towards the end of the first half and Samson scored his second goal for Santa Cruz Cavelossim in the last few seconds; thus maintaining the team lead at 2-1 by the end of the first half. The second half was dominated by Goa United (A) throughout. By virtue of a smashing header by Avresto Fernandes and the final goal by Ashley Lobo, Goa United (A) managed to qualify for the quarter finals with a final score of 3-2.
Match two was played between Parish Y Nuvem and JMJ. The match seemed very even as both the teams displayed equal fight to qualify. The first half saw a goal by Johan Fernandes of JMJ. Luck didn’t favor the Parish Y Nuvem as they missed several close goals including a free-kick where the ball bounced off after hitting the goal post. The final result went in favor of JMJ thanks to the sole goal of the match scored in the first half.
The match between Goa United (B) and Piedade Youth Association was a close battle between both teams as they struggled to get the ball past the goal keepers. However, just in the last minute of the second half, Agnelo D’souza managed to score a goal with a brilliant header; thus reserving a berth for Piedade Youth Association in the quarter finals.
FC Neura and Penha De France were up next on the field. For a major part of the match, it looked pretty one-sided in favor of Penha De France as they led with two goals scored by Mickey Fernandes. The scores stood at 2-0 by the middle of the second half, but a sudden comeback by FC Neura changed the face of the results. With two back-to-back goals by Suraj Hadkonkar & Sameer Bhomkar, FC Neura took everyone by surprise and the match ended with a tie between both the teams thus turning to penalty shootouts for making the decision. Mickey Fernandes from Penha de France & Suraj Hadkonkar from FC Neura took the first shots successfully for their teams. The second shot for Penha de France was missed by Melvyn Fernandes, and FC Neura cashed in on this advantage with a clean goal by Sameer Bhomkar, thus qualifying for the quarter finals.
