Cortalim Villagers downed Calangute Association 2-0 to cruise into the semi-finals of All Goa 46th Custodio memorial inter village football tournament organised by Raia Sporting Club at Panchayat Ground, Raia on Saturday.
the goan I networkrMARGAOrrIn an evenly contested battle, both the teams displayed an attacking brand of soccer to keep the crowds on their toes. As early as the sixth minute, Cortalim Villagers had a golden chance to surge ahead when striker Estevan Mendes beat his marker but his try sailed over the crossbar even as the Calangute Association goalkeeper was out of rhis postion.rAt the other end, Calangute Association did not lag behind and raided the rival goal. Striker Aniket Mandrekar failed to beat the rival goalkeeper in a one-to-one situation after he had received a Runal Shirodkar assist in the 10th minute. rCalangute Association almost found the opener but striker Pedro Gonsalves blasted wide from hand-shaking distance. Cortalim Villagers’ breakthrough finally came in the 22nd minute when Jenes Vaz found a Rivon Gama pass and fired a snap shot that crashed into the net as the team went into the break 1-0 up and high on morale. rPost resumption, Cortalim Villagers continued to enjoy the better share of exchanges and ball possession. They made it 2-0 as Estevan Mendes punted the ball to the far corner of the net benefiting from rival defender’s lapses, just before the final whistle.
