Silveira double blow floors Iran Youth

Silveira double blow floors Iran Youth
RAYMOND FERNANDES

Mumbai, January 6: Francis Silveira was the toast of the goodly Goan crowd at the Cooperage, on Saturday. The wily striker netted two goals, both opportunistic ones, to enable last year’s runners-up Zee Churchill Brothers quell the strong challenge of the Iran Youth Team, 2-1, and propelled the Goa League champions into the final of the 100th Bristol Rovers Cup Football Championship.

Churchill now await the winner of the second all-Bengal semi-final clash between Kingfisher East Bengal and Mohun Bagan scheduled to be played on Sunday. The final will be held on Tuesday.

The Iranians were unlucky today. First their striker Mostafa Haghipour had to leave the field owing to injury and later in the game, their goalkeeper Abbas Kasemi met with the same fate when he had to be replaced by Ershad Yousefi in the 80th minute, also owing to injury. The Churchill match-winner came in injury time.

The Iranians did most of the attacking. They were faster on the ball and there was method and speed in their approach work. But they wasted several other chances besides scoring in the 44th minute.

Churchill were outplayed in the midfield exchanges and had just three good opportunities in the entire game. They, however proved to be good opportunists and scored twice, first in the 15th minute and then gave the foreigners no chance whatsoever for survival with their second goal in the last minute of the six-minute injury time.

Francis Silveira made the most of their first opening. He neatly lobbed the ball over onrushing goalkeeper Abbas from outside the box on the right, after a cross from the left by Churchill’s Brazilian import Edson Adeu had beaten the Iranian defence’s off-side trap.

The Iranians, who had settled down easily, were demoralised but regained their bearings and scored a deserving equaliser in the 44th minute after much effort. Fine understanding between forwards Reza Hadadi and Monsour Jamalian, saw the former find the roof of the net with a fine volley from the top of the box.

In the second session, Eman Mobali once, Bahram Esmaeli twice, failed to make the most of sitters for the Iranians and twice Churchill goalkeeper Edward Ansah brought off fine saves to thwart the marauding visitors.

The match-winner came after a stray raid and very much against the run of play. Silveira found the target with a diving header after linkman Ajay Kumar had crossed high into the goalmouth from the right flank.