Mizoram erased a goal’s deficit before piling on the misery on last year’s finalist and six-time champion Goa with a 3-1 win in the opening Group-B league match of the 72nd Santosh Trophy on Tuesday.
Goa captain Victorino Fernandes opened the scoring early in the first half but the lead was neutralised by F. Lalrinpuia, who equalised midway through. After the break Lal Romawia scored two quick goals towards the end to help the North-East side collect full points.
Playing true to its style, Goa dictated terms initially. After a couple of ineffective raids Goa found the opener in the 11th minute.
Marcus Mascarenhas ran up the left flank and played a pass to Fernandes, who got the better of a couple of Mizoram defenders before slotting home.
Stung by the setback, Mizoram plotted a gradual recovery and found the Goa net in the 25th minute. The equaliser came about in a rather haphazard manner.
Winger Lalbiakhlua’s first attempt was blocked by Goa goalkeeper Ozen Vivian Silva. The loose ball came to Lalrinpuia, whose first attempt came off a Goa defender. The ball returned to the Mizoram striker and he did not make any mistake with his second attempt.
Mizoram showed greater resolve after the change of ends and started exploiting the chinks in Goa’s defence. Lalremruata almost got the lead for Mizoram in the 49th minute but the crosspiece blocked his header.
With Goa conceding possession too easily, Mizoram grabbed the advantage when its under-21 midfielder Romawia scored twice within three minutes in the last 10 minutes of action.
In another Group-B match at the Municipal Corporation Stadium, Howrah, eight-time champion Punjab too scripted a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Odisha.
The other match came alive after the interval when Odisha took the lead through Arpan Lakra. Sarbjit restored parity for Punjab before an own goal by Odisha’s Rudra Pratap Pradhan gave Punjab victory.
The results: Group-B: Mizoram 3 (F. Lalrinpuia 25, Lal Romawia 81, 84) bt Goa 1 (Victorino Fernandes 11); Punjab 2 (Sarbjit 70, Rudra Pratap Pradhan 82-og) bt Odisha 1 (Arpan Lakra 62).