The Goan Sports & Cultural Club (Delhi) team along with the Club President Alex Fernandes and officials.
PANAJI
They may not be full-fledged or professional footballers, but it was a commendable performance by the team from the Goan Sports & Cultural Club, Delhi, to reach into the top 5 at the recent Delhi Soccer Association’s (DSA) B division league.
The Goan Sports & Cultural Club, Delhi has been engaged in promoting football in the national capital for the last seven decades.
Seventy years back, a group of young Goans working in various hotels and restaurants in Connaught place used to play in the central park every afternoon. Seeing their sporting talent a well-wisher advised them to form a team. Thus, the Goan Sports Club (GSC) was born.
Many years later, the GSC was renamed as the Goan Sports & Cultural Club (GSCC), when the committee began conducting cultural activities.
Since its inception, the GSCC team has been active in the football landscape in Delhi. Being a member of the DSA affiliated to the AIFF, the team has been participating in the DSA league and other tournaments every year.
This year too, when the DSA B division league was announced, the Club President Alex Fernandes along with Melvin Diniz (Sports Secretary), Joseph Noronha (Joint Sports Secretary), Michael D’Costa (Joint General Secretary) and Ghanshyam (Team Manager & Coordinator) started scouting for players.
After much effort, a team was formed under their Coach Nitin Dhasmana.
“The boys were young, talented and most importantly very enthusiastic. The team played a few friendly matches and were victorious in almost all of them which boosted their confidence greatly. The sports committee too became very optimistic and were looking forward to the league,” said Alex Fernandes.
The league had a total of 32 teams divided into 6 groups, with the GSCC being in group C. There were some formidable opponents in the group and each team had to play four matches each. The GSCC won all four matches with good margins and ended up on top of the group. This reserved a berth for them in their group of Super Six round of the tournament in which all the best teams had qualified. The teams had to play five matches each in this round.
“The euphoria of winning took a jolt when the GSCC was defeated in the first match of this round. The spirit of the team was dampened but the GSCC committee lauded the teams performance and tried to boost their morale,” said Fernandes.
“The team won the next two matches comfortably and were gearing up for the last match which would get them into the finals. They were facing an equally matched team and the excitement was palpable on the field.”
“Outside the field too, the committee was hoping for a win as the GSCC would be playing the finals after many years. Unfortunately after a hard fought game, the GSCC team conceded defeat and ended up 5th best among the 32 teams in the league.”
“In spite of not qualifying for the finals, it was a great achievement for the club as it had reached this high in a tournament after many years.”
The GSCC goalkeeper Piyush won the ‘Goalkeeper of the Tournament’ award, which added a feather in the cap of the club.
The Club President Alex Fernandes and his committee congratulated the team and the sports officials for their hard work and assured them of the club’s full support for the league next year.
They also acknowledged the untiring support and involvement of Ghanshyam who proved to be the backbone of the team.
“The Club expresses its gratitude to all the sponsors and donors without whose support the team couldn’t have come this far. The Goan Sports & Cultural Club will strive to keep the Goan flag flying in Delhi,” Fernandes added.
