NT NETWORK
FATORDA
Persistent efforts by Goa Velha Sports Club finally paid off when they held Clube Sao Miguel De Taleigao 1-1 and collected their first point in the GFA’s Geno First Division Football League played at artificial grounds, Fatorda on Wednesday.
Clube Sao Miguel de Taleigao went into the lead through a goal scored by substitute Niraj Shirodkar while Goa Velha levelled the score through a penalty kick by medio Francis Fernandes.
“We have got four more matches to play and we will fight it out to gain full points in these remaining matches. This is our ninth match and we fought hard to collect this point,” said a top official of Goa Velha Sports Club when contacted by The Navhind Times.
It was the Clube Sao Miguel De Taleigao team that went into the lead in the 58th minute of the second session of play after a barren first half.
Sao Miguel de Taleigao striker Gautam Kankonkar sped down the right flank after dodging two rival defenders and on entering the box, smartly passed the ball to ideally placed Niraj Shirodkar, who proved to be the super substitute as he banged the ball past the bewildered Goa Velha S C keeper Akshat Hadkonkar to take the lead.
Goa Velha had the first look at the rival goal but their strikers lacked imagination and fire power to convert their chances.
The first session largely belonged to Clube Sao Miguel de Taleigao and even in the second, they had four clear chances to score, but they could not.
Club Sao Miguel de Taleigao midfield stitched some good moves where John Vaz and Fleming Dias kept on spraying some smart passes but the strikers could not get their act together.
Goa Velha keeper Akshat Hadkonkar proved to be a hard nut to crack even when Sao Miguel de Taleigao fired shots from six yard box at him. Akshat’s brilliant parried the rival efforts with fine anticipation.
Goa Velha, who were on the defensive, began to step up pressure late into the second session of play and a goal looked imminent, anytime.
Goa Velha S C levelled the score in the 82nd minute when Clube Sao Miguel de Taleigao defender Raju Abbigeri brought down striker Arun Naik inside the box. Referee Jose Rebello pointed to the penalty spot from where medio Francis Fernandes converted without any difficulty beating Clube Sao Miguel de Taleigao keeper Edwin P S Rodrigues.
Both the teams thereafter were on the prawl, looking for an opportunity to find the mark. But the defence of both the teams rose to the occasion to clear the ball to safety.
The goal keepers of both the teams had a torrid time during the last ten minutes of play when the match tended to be fast. However, the strikers that were fired on either side were off the mark or were safely collected by the respective goalkeepers.