ANDREA FERNANDES
MARGAO
Keenan Almeida put in a good performance to help FC Goa get their equalizer during their 1-1 draw against Atletico de Kolkata on Wednesday. Apart from Romeo and Mandar, it was Keenan who seemed to have impressed the fans and coach throughout the game with good attacking play even after being a defender.
Mandar’s cross from the left was headed backwards by Reinaldo and then Keenan picked up the ball and struck a powerful right-footer past rival custodian Amrinder Singh. He scored the long awaited equalizer for The Gaurs and is the second Goan to score a goal in the Indian Super League (ISL) season 2 after teammate Mandar.
“It really feels great scoring the equaliser for my team. I believe my performance could have been better and I will definitely strive harder. I would like to thank my coach Zico. This is my first goal in this season and it means a lot to me. I also look forward to scoring a few more,” Keenan told The Goan.
As for Keenan he is a lad who takes everyday as it comes and does not miss out on learning the new things that life brings along. “Every day is a learning experience for us footballers. We can never learn or know it all in the game. Because every match has something new that happens,” he said.
FC Goa’s marquee player Lucio is his idol and playing alongside a legendary player like him is a dream come true for this young lad from Goa.
Winning does matter for everyone but sometimes it is just not your day. “The double substitution made in the second half of the game did make an impact. Since we could play a more attacking game,” he said.
Keenan Almeida was the seventh domestic player to join FC Goa. The 23-year-old is a promising young defender, who over the last three seasons was juggling for the I-League side, Sporting Clube de Goa.
“We had a good pre-season and played a lot of friendlies and this helped to get us in good shape and helped us in giving a good performance today against Atletico De Kolkata,” told the 23 year old lad from Cuncolim.
He also went on to explain that the fans cheering from the stands does help as its boost their morale and helps them play even more better to see their fans happy.
It has been given to understand that at every match he does not attempt to avoid failure but strives hard to succeed. “Winning does matter and we play to win,” he said.
Today he won the ISL emerging player of the match award.
