CR Mumbai downs Goa U-20, enters finals

Pune, Feb 25 (UNI) Central Railways, Mumbai, quelled Goa U-20 4-1 to enter the finals of the Abhijeet Kadam Memorial Football Cup underway here.

The 4-1 score line may seem one-sided but despite two twin strikes in either half, it was the Goans who showed the temperament to match their rivals who had a host of former internationals in their ranks.

The Mumbai squad went ahead through Socorro Velho (4th minute) who picked up a K S Sumesh pass and on the run blasted a volley past the Gon custodian Jason D'Mello. within a couple of minutes, the Mumbai squad doubled the advantage thanks to Kasif Jamal's square pass to Socorro who blasted from close range.

The Goan defence cracked repeatedly as Jamal and Socorro were all over the defence, but it was the brilliance of Jason under the bar who kept the score to minimum.

After changing ends, the Goans found some headway from the right as the Railways' defence of Agnello Fernandes and Prakash Janardhan time and again were beaten by the speedy Calvin Lobo.

On at least two occasions, the Goans lacked imagination in front of the goal. First to disappoint was Bevan D'Mello who was caught in two minds whether to volley or head when Lobo squeezed in a cross from the right. The next was closer when Clifford Rodrigues header off a Lobo cross was tipped out of play on the goalline by Railways' custodian Raghuvir Khanolkar.

With Santan Rodrigues testing the Mumbai 'keeper with a long range, the Goans suddenly developed the will and importantly the ambition of taking on their well set rivals.

A snap-shot taken by E K Arun that viciously dipped, left the Goan custodian blank and made the encounter look like a washout. However, a minute later Gabriel Fernandes connected Bevan's pass sending the crowd in raptures.

However, what followed was not the sight one would expect to see from a seasoned team like Mumbai. In their euphoria, Bevan rushed to collect the ball from the net, which it seemed was not liked by the Mumbai 'keeper Khanolkar, who tried to snatch the ball.

What ensued was a melee with Beven not giving in. With Beven being pushed to the turf, the game for a minute was nothing but push and shove. Both Khanolkar and Bevan were shown the red card.

Down to ten-men each, the Mumbai squad added another with two minutes to go. A free-kick won by Socorro, saw the wily striker take the 'free-kick' quickly. Finding M Shafique unmarked on the right, a perfect placement put the issue beyond imagination of the Goans.

UNI