:::Kuwait Indians mourn the death of ex-footballer Peter Colaco::: Navelim play with black armbands;Maroons bow out: NYC Trophy
:::Report by Gasper Crasto for www.goa-world.com/ (Tel. No. 9950 2686)::: Kuwait: Hosts Navelim Youth Centre (NYC) played with black armbands while a minute's silence was observed in each of the matches played in the ongoing 21st Edition of the NYC Trophy as a mark of respect to Peter Colaco, founder member and ex-footballer of NYC, who died on 13th April onboard a Kuwait Airways flight whilst returning back from India. In a statement to the media NYC President Agnello A.S. Fernandes said, Peter Colaco's loss is colossal to the club. A founder member, Peter was one of those for whom discipline meant everything. An excellent footballer, he was one the favorites on Soor Grounds during his prime playing days. To his family, Peter was a caring father and a loving husband. To us, Peter was a very kind person, always ready to help. He always had a solution to any problem and had a way of making things simple. In him, we have lost a stalwart supporter of NYC. The abyss created by him will be felt for a long time to come." Navelim advanced to the semifinals beating CRC Chinchinim 2-1 while strong contenders and tournament favorites GOA Maroons bowed out of the tournament with a tie-breaker defeat. The tournament played at Sabah Hospital Grounds under the auspices of Kuwait Indian Football Federation (KIFF) is sponsored by international corporate houses Gulf Custody Company, Axis Bank and My Money Mart. Navelim took the lead through captain Americo Fernandes only to see goalkeeper Britto Pereira, one of the most popular players in Kuwait, commit a silly mistake in advancing out of his den unnecessarily to allow Chinchinim's Sedwin Gomes to level the scores. Navelim's playmaker Duarte Ferrao combined superbly with medio Bernard Pires to scramble the match winner late into the match. Chinchinim goalkeeper Anthony Fernandes and striker Sony Gomes were outstanding throughout the match while stopper back John Furtado, Kelwin Rodrigues, Simon, Bernard and Christi Pires excelled for NYC. Navelim meet United Goans (UG) Strikers in the first semi-finals on 23rd April 2010. :::Mighty Maroons bow out::: Goa Maroons dominated most of the first session against United Friends Club (UFC), hitting the post more than once but could not get the much needed goal. Jaime Figuera, Carlos D'Sa, Ian D'Souza, Gabriel Fernandes, Joseph and Steven Correia played well for Maroons. United Friends Club, watched by their club President Cajetan Pereira played a defensive game almost intentionally holding the much superior Maroons to go in for the tie-breaker Anthony Fernandes, Alino Silvano Mendes and Godwin were on target for UFC. It may be noted that despite winning the game, some senior players of UFC were seen screaming abuse in a language perhaps not understood by the officiating referee P.A. Tony, one of the best referees in Kuwait. Many of the spectators raised questions whether clubs or officials do anything to curb this kind of 'uneducated' behavior from players playing in the Kuwait Indian Football Federation (KIFF) tournaments where much importance is emphasized on discipline and fair-play. In another match, Curtocares United beat Santos Football Club 2-0 to reach the last four stage. Zico Fernandes and Minguel Mouro scored for the winners Curtorcares will face United Friends Club in the semi-final clash. In an earlier match, United Goans beat Rising Stars in the tie-breaker for a semi-final berth. Francisco Fernandes, Edward Britto, Alwyn Pontes, Frederick D'Souza, Ravi Narvekar and Anthony Silveira took the spot kicks for United Goans. Semi-final line-up (23/04/2010): Navelim Youth Centre v/s United Goans at 6.45 am Curtorcares United v/s United Friends Club at 8.15 am :::The above news report appeared in Kuwait's Arab Times dated 21 April 2010 The news is also featured on http://mangalorean.com , www.indiansinkuwait com, www.indianfootball.com and Goanet:::
