MARGAO: Calangute Veterans secured a spot in the finals of the S. Mini Mart Seraulim Veterans Cup football tournament by defeating USC Seraulim Veterans 6-5 in a penalty shootout after a goalless draw in regular time.
Despite heavy rains impacting play, both teams displayed attacking intent from the outset. Calangute nearly struck first when Samer Chondakar delivered a beautiful cross in the opening minutes, but Vijay Parsekar's header just missed the target.
Seraulim responded with a chance of their own when Jess Cardozo skillfully dribbled past a couple of defenders, only for his shot to rattle the goalpost.
The first half ended with the scoreline still at 0-0, and the second half continued to see both sides press for a breakthrough. Strong defensive efforts and outstanding saves from goalkeepers Camilo Ferrao (Seraulim) and Gabriel Fernandes (Calangute) maintained the deadlock.
In the tiebreaker, Calangute Veterans proved more accurate, converting all six of their penalties through Vijay Parsekar, Bruno Coutinho, Paresh Kurgunkar, Prashant Matkar, Allwyn Fernandes, and Sameer Chodankar. U.S.C. Seraulim Veterans managed to score five times with efforts from Sohan D'Costa, Kennedy Noronha, Sandip Shanke, Vinod Naik, and Jess Cardozo, but it wasn't enough to clinch victory.
Calangute Veterans will now advance to the finals, looking to claim the title in what promises to be an exciting conclusion to the tournament.
