Action from the Goa-Kolkata match in Goa on Tuesday. IANSMapusa (Goa): A brace by Brazilian Foglia helped Mumbai book a place in the semifinals as they edged out Chennai 4-3 in the Premier Futsal here on Tuesday.
In a keenly contested game, with several twists and turns, Mumbai, which was down twice in the game, bounced back to cross over the line.
Former Manchester United star Ryan Giggs, the marquee player for Mumbai, who was cheered by the crazy crowd, did not disappoint them as he netted the ball in the 26th minute.
For Mumbai, it was an amalgamation of good passes and counter attacks that did the trick. Fogila opened Mumbai's account in the seventh minute only to be leveled two minutes later by Chennai's Sean Garnier.
Romulo made it 2-1 in the 16th minute. Just four minutes later Angellot drew level for Mumbai in the 20th minute.
Three minutes in the third quarter, Chennai again raced ahead 3-2 as Camilo scored from a deflection. Mumbai leveled it again thanks to Giggs.
It all boiled down to the fourth quarter even as the audience held their nerve. Then Fogila did the star turn as he netted in the 34th minute to make it 4-3 in his team's favour.
Chennai then tried their best to level, but did not complete succeed.
Vampeta saves Goa
Goa's Vampeta scored two quick goals in the third quarter as his side held Kolkata to a 2-2 draw in the first match.
Kolkata were strong on both attack and defence in the first two quarters as they took an lead of 2-0 at the the half-time. It was Kolkata's Pula who scored for the first time in the game in the fifth minute.
His teammate Carioca extended the lead to 2-0 in the ninth minute. Goa had opportunities to score, but missed several chances in the first two quarters, giving their opponents the edge.
Also, it was a spectacular performance and show of skills by Kolkata's goalkeeper Cidao who saved several of Goa's attempts.
The Kolkata 5s players had a better understanding and coordination in the first two quarters even as Goa missed their marquee player Ronaldino for the contest. Goa were unable to score in the second quarter.
Equally outstanding was Goa's goalkeeper Bebe who made some extraordinary saves.
Futsal is known for speed, passes and counter-attacks. This very nature of the game was displayed in third quarter as the tables turned in Goa's favour with the experienced Brazilian born Italian national Vampeta took on the keeper alone on two occasions and scored both the times.
Vampeta scored from counter-attacks in the 24th and 27th minutes.
In the fourth quarter, Kolkata seemed to have changed their strategy with a one-on-one marking for their opposition players. The quarter also saw aggressive play by both sides. At the end of the scheduled time, the sides settled for a draw with both gaining a point each.
(With inputs from Agencies)
