Young Gaurs sink Sporting Clube 3-0

UTORDA: FC Goa scored a resounding 3-0 win over Sporting Clube de Goa to increase their chances of qualifying from Goa in the All India Football Federation (AIFF) U-18 (Goa zone) Youth League match played at SAG ground, Utorda on Tuesday.

The winners led by two goals scored by Joybert Almeida (20th minute) and Meuton Fernandes (43rd minute) while Asfin Pinto (60th minute) consolidated the lead in the second half.

With this win, FC Goa have jumped over Sporting Clube de Goa with fourteen points while Sporting are with thirteen from seven matches. Salgaocar FC are on the top of the table with 18 points from the same number of matches. The two top teams from Goa qualify for the final round.

Sporting Clube de Goa, who started the match well, stitched some good moves for the first fifteen minutes of play and then suddenly succumbed to the pressure exerted by FC Goa and conceded a goal in the 20th minute.

Medio Sweden Fernandes sliced a neat pass from the right flank to Joybert Almeida who, on receiving the ball, unleashed a powerful left footer that crashed to the far corner of Sporting Clube de Goa nets, giving no chance at all to keeper Akshant Hadkonkar.

The match thereafter was almost played on level terms with both the teams making accelerating moves in search of another goal. Sporting Clube de Goa’s Ifran Yadwad, Aman U Govekar and Stendly Fernandes gave some hopes of a fightback with some good play, but failed to take their chances as the FC Goa defence, manned by Lely Rebello and Company cleared the ball to safety with quick reflexes and fine anticipation.

The Sporting Clube de Goa defence, on the other hand, left huge gaps which left the FC Goa strikers with ample of space to play with.

FC Goa doubled their lead towards the end of the first session when Meuton Fernandes scored with a stiff grounder off a long pass by defender Rayan Menezes that found the Sporting Clube de Goa defence napping.

FC Goa scored their third goal through striker Asfin Pinto who banged to the far corner of Sporting Clube de Goa nets off a pass from Meuton Fernandes.