Portuguese Goans lost to Tugas 2-3 in the final.
Photo Credits: The Goan
DOHA, QATAR
Tugas overcame a spirited fightback by Portuguese Goans to win the Portugal Fans Qatar 6-a-side football tournament at Awfaz Global School Campus recently.
Portuguese Goans, a team comprising players hailing from Goa, were trailing by two goals at the end of half time play but rallied to draw level in the second half but an injury-time goal sealed the fate of the match.
A hat-trick from Andres Souza, a former futsal player with a second division club, who is presently employed as a coach at PSG Academy in Qatar and who also emerged as the tournament top scorer with teammate Paulo Marques, shattered the dreams of the Goans. Andres scored in the 19th, 20th and injury time of the match to pave the way for his team's win in the tournament. The Goans took the fight to the rival camp with goals from Oliver Bennis in the 28th minute and from goalkeeper Craig D’Souza, who scored three goals in two matches in the tournament.
Coming to the final match, it was a touch and go affair. The Tugas, who had a few coaches and technical directors in their ranks, gave it a professional touch and meant business right from the kick-off. Professionals as they were, they latched on to the body blow that Portuguese Goans suffered as their regular keeper Craig D’Souza had to go out due to a leg injury.
Andres latched on to a loose ball at the centre of the circle and unleashed a powerful drive which broke through the defence of Nikhil in the 19th minute, 1-0. A minute later, Tugas scored the second goal through a slice of luck. Nikhil D'Souza was caught unawares when Raferns Cardoso's clearance hit Andres' leg and ended up in the back of the net, 2-0.
On resumption, the Goans -- who played second fiddle in the first half to the Portuguese nationals, were a transformed lot and came up with varied combinations and set play. It was only a matter of time that they broke through the rival defence. Portuguese Goans scored their first in the 28th minute through Bennis, who unleashed a thunderbolt to beat the rival keeper, 1-2. They notched the equaliser four minutes later through Craig’s long ranger, 2-2. Thereafter the Goans dominated but a couple of close chances went a begging.
Tugas celebrated their escapes with their third goal with Andres positioning himself for the kill-off breakaway move to make it 3-2. In the last two minutes, the Goans tried to make a match out of it but ran out of time with Tugas walking away with the winners' trophy while the Goans had to settle for the second position.
