The semi-finals of the 35th UGC Annual football tournament were played on 29th October 2010, at Shuwaikh MOH ground under the auspices of K.I.F.F. The first match was played between Navelim and United Friends Club and was officiated by Edward, Joe, Tony and Conny. UFC started attacking right from the word go and looked to have caught Navelim players by surprise by their courageous start. UFC had a couple of shots on target and Brito the keeper of Navelim failed to collect a long cross where UFC forwards were ready to pounce on, but a brave effort from Brito made sure he got to the ball first. Remedio of UFC played a key role in the middle and was providing the ball nicely to his strikers up front. UFC defense was well organized and spread out and Navelim was having a hard time to penetrate. Navelim had to take long range shots to test the keeper and that’s exactly what they did.
UFC missed a golden opportunity to score in the 25th minute but the shot was lacking in power and it was cleared by the last defender. And at the other end, Duarte of NYC provided superb crosses but some good UFC defending did not allow any chances. UFC keeper Martin Dias was forced to come out of his area and make some good saves when the ball was crossed inside the dee.
UFC was the dominant team in the first half and in the second half NYC had more ball possession and more shots on target. Both teams increased the intensity and it was Navelim who looked like they would score in the second half. From their various efforts, they found the woodwork from Seby, who also worked very hard upfront to try to find the winner. He had two shots on target but the UFC keeper Martin was at his best and did everything correct to keep the ball out of the net. The UFC defense was not holding up as it did in the first half and Navelim begin to take advantage of it. The shortage of goals resulted in more cards flying out to both teams and rightly so to players that did not play to the whistle. UFC had a great chance towards the end of the second half to clinch the winner but no.15 Xavier missed narrowly from a tough shot.
The game went into extra-time to try to break the deadlock and Navelim continued marching towards goal but UFC keeper who was the man of the match on this day continued making great saves to deny NYC. The match had to move into penalties and all UFC players – Antonio, Cajetan, Remedio and Edwin took calm and composed penalties and made no mistakes. Navelim were unlucky on the other hand as Alfred hit the post and the ball went straight to the keepers hands and Pires shot was saved by Martin to deny Navelim and secure UFC a place in the final, second time in a row. UFC 5 - NYC 3
GOA Maroons Triumph over DHL
The second match started at 9:30 am. No team was able to take control early and both teams maintained equal possession. Both teams did a good job in defending well in the early half. Ian D’souza of Goa Maroons made nothing easy for DHL and cut off all the crosses and stopped all the through balls. Goa Maroons and DHL were both playing without key players due to injuries, suspensions and travel plans. DHL began to settle in the game and started passing the ball nicely among themselves. No.6 Vincent of DHL played a good attacking role up front for DHL and provided Valenky a great chance who missed by inches with his shot. For Goa Maroons No.16 Sandy was playing a pivotal role in midfield. Jerry of Goa Maroons had a good chance in front of goal but his shot was sent wide of the target. The first half ended with no goals for either team.
In the second half DHL on a couple of occasions kept the ball for too long in the Goa Maroons dee without taking a shot. Fifteen minutes into the second half, a miscued header from a DHL player beat the goalkeeper and found the back of the net. Goa Maroons took the lead after that mistake from DHL and the match began to change drastically. The match picked up pace after the first goal. DHL did not look like that goal was going to stop them and they played some good football to try to find an equalizer. Godfrey Aguiar of DHL missed two heading opportunities from some good crosses he had received. He had the best chance for DHL to change the outcome of the game. Goa Maroons started moving forward and found the post twice from a long range effort from Philip and Joseph. DHL were lucky those did shots did not go in as it would change the match. DHL tried till the final whistle blew but they were not able to find the equalizer. The match was officiated by Pascoal, Rosario, Conny and Zico. Goa Maroons will meet United Friends Club in the finals next week.
UGC 35th Annual Football Tournament Final will be held on Shuwaikh MOH grounds @ 8:00 am between Goa Maroons and United Friends Club
