Sesa FA beat Velsao SCC to advance in Goa Police Cup

Ashley Cardozo opened the scoring for the Academy side in the sixth minute itself.

Sesa FA defeated Velsao SCC 4-2 in the inaugural match of the 17th Goa Police Cup, played at the Duler Stadium in Mapusa, Goa on Sunday.

The Academy Boys took the lead through Ashley Cardozo in the sixth minute. Cardozo scored his second goal in the 29th minute, to also double his side's lead. A quick brace from James Fernandes helped Velsao claw back into the game soon after. However, Sesa FA's Akash Kudnekar scored at the 40-minute mark to restore their lead against Velsao SCC.

Sesa then added to their lead once again in the second half through Faheez Mohammed, who found the back of the net in the 55th minute.

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The Academy Boys were handed an easy start to the match by their opponents Velsao. Dravid Fernandes brought down Faheez Mohammed and the referee awarded a penalty in Sesa's favour. Ashley Cardozo then made no mistake in converting his spot-kick to make it 1-0 for his side in the sixth minute itself.

This was followed by Sesa FA launching a series of attacks on Velsao SCC. However, the lack of a final product from the likes of Aman Rajbhar, Rizbon Fernandes and Vishnu Gosavi meant they did not change the scoreline. Ashley then completed his brace in the 29th minute, as he headed in from close range off Vishnu's perfect corner.

Down by two goals within the first half hour, Velsao then regrouped and came out all guns buzzing. They finally managed to reduce the margin in the 35th minute through James, as he finished well to trim Sesa's lead. Three minutes later, James netted again to restore parity to the scoreline.

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Velsao SCC's joy was, however, short-lived, as Akash Kudnekar scored a brilliant goal from inside the box to give Sesa FA the lead once again. 10 minutes into the second half, they made it 4-2, as Faheez Mohammed took advantage of a defensive error and shot past Velsao custodian Stejin S.

The Academy Boys had a few more chances to add to their lead, but Stejin made good saves to deny Faheez and Kunal Salgaonkar from close range. Meanwhile, Velsao's Mathew Colaco and James also came close to finding the back of the net.

The Goa Police Cup defending champions FC Goa will face YC Manora on November 10. The winner of that clash will face Sesa FA in the quarter-finals on November 13.

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