KIFF
LEAGUE
DON BOSCO ORATORY
TO PLAY DHL FC IN FINAL
Arjuna Awardee Bruno Coutinho to attend final
Don Bosco Oratory (DBO)
scripted the perfect plot to down mighty Navelim YC 1-0 in an edge of the seat thriller
and go in the final as firm favorites against DHL FC who were lucky to scrape
pass United Friends Club in the tie breaker after extra time had ended goalless,
in the penultimate matches of the KIFF League Championship organized by The
Kuwait Indian Football Federation (KIFF) and played at MOH Grounds in Shuwaikh,
last Friday.
In an emotionally charged game,
man of the match Michael Dias of DBO was the main architect in his team’s
victory and he was ably supported by Alido Gomes in the goal and defenders
Godfrey Aguiar, Salman and the robust ‘take no prisoners’ Roshan D’Souza. Their midfield too functioned admirably well
with Alexandro and Seby supporting the defense to ensure that wave after wave
of attacks launched by Navelim YC forwards Cruzedio, Arif Shaikh and Ryan Luis
were squashed and DBO encouraged by their sports loving president Fr. Francisco
Pereira who was on hand to witness the match and voracious supporters,
reminiscent of the Soor Ground days, held on to claim a famous win against
their more fancied opponents.
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| Don Bosco Oratory - Winners |
Don Bosco Oratory had a surprise in store for Navelim
when they unveiled their trump card for this match, the newly recruited Lloyd
Mascarenhas who has recently arrived from India and who immediately caught the
eye with his brilliant ball control, precise defense splitting passes and
darting runs making life miserable for the Navelim defenders Alfredo, Joaquim
and Wilson.
Both teams had their opportunities and the woodwork came to the
rescue on a couple of occasions when Lloyd’s free kick for DBO and Navelim
Ryans’s shots came off the cross bar on either side of the half. Alexando Gomes who played his heart out in
the DBO midfield too had a scorching try towards the end of the game deflect
off the upright. The lone goal was
scored by DBO in the first half when Lloyd making one of his solo runs was
brought down in the penalty area and referee Derrick Gomindes who kept good
control of the match had no hesitation in pointing to the dreaded spot. Michael Dias coolly slotted the penalty to
make him joint leading goal scorer with Cruzeido of Navelim, with the final
still to be played.
In the other semi final played
earlier, Manuel of United Friends Club
missed a penalty in the dying minutes of the game that would have taken his
team to the finals, as his shot was well
saved by ‘man of the match’ goalkeeper Manoj
Cheluuatyour and after playing extra time without any change in the score line,
the match was decided by the tie breaker. Vico, Terence, Ishafaq and Cruz scored for DHL
FC, while only Hemanth, Seby and Abdullah could find the net for United Friends
Club.
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| DHL FC defeated United Friends Club to book place in Finals |
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| Man of the Match for DHL FC - Manoj Cheluatyour |
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| Michael Dias of DBO receiving his Man of the Match award from KIFF President Fidelis Fernandes |
The grand final between Don
Bosco Oratory and DHL FC is slated for Friday, 15th June 2012 at
7:00pm. The venue will be announced
shortly and the chief guest for the event is the Indian Ambassador to Kuwait,
his Excellency Shri Satish C. Metha. Indian soccer icon and Arjuna Awardee Bruno
Coutinho, the Jt. Director of Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) is the guest of honor
and Mr. Naser Omran Kanan of Gulf Cable will be the special invitee.
Julio Cardoso
Kuwait
Note:- The analysis of the games expressed in the above article are personal and as witnessed by me.
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| Goalkeeper Manoj of DHL FC saves a penalty during the game against UFC |
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| Large number of supporters turned up to witness the semi finals |
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| Spactators enjoying the DBO versus Navelim Y.C match |
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| Wonderful gesture - Michael Dias shares his Man of The Match award with Lloyd Mascarenhas |
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