Goa Police striker Kunal Salgaonkar receives the Player of the Match award.
SCOREBOX
VASCO SC 1 (Vellington Almeida 71') lost to GOA POLICE 7 (Satyam Kankonkar 36', Kunal Salgaonkar 45’+1, 84′, Vaibhav Naik 58′, Mayuresh Naik 75′, 90′, Deepak Naik 80′)
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PAX OF NAGOA 0 drew with BIDESH XI 0
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PANAJI
Goa Police SC delivered one of the most dominant performances of the season as they overpowered Vasco SC 7-1 in a one-sided Goa Professional League clash at Duler Stadium on Monday.
The result was shaped by relentless attacking play, sharp transitions and composure inside the box, leaving Vasco with little room to recover after repeated defensive lapses. In the day’s other fixture at Nagoa Ground, Pax of Nagoa SC and Bidesh XI SC finished goalless.
Goa Police’s momentum began building as early as the 26th minute when Vasco carved out a promising opening, only for goalkeeper Saiesh Kunkolkar to step forward with a strong block that kept the scoreline level. Ten minutes later, the breakthrough arrived. After a confident dribble through the heart of Vasco’s midfield, Mayuresh Naik slipped a neat pass to Satyam Kankonkar, who placed his finish into the net to make it 1-0.
The match then took a dramatic turn on the stroke of halftime. A scramble inside the Vasco box ended with Goa Police appealing for a foul, and tempers rose as Vasco keeper Roni Das confronted the referee and was promptly booked. A penalty was awarded, and in the 45+1 minute, Kunal Salgaonkar stepped up and converted with ease to double the advantage.
Goa Police returned from the break in full control. In the 53rd minute, Lavnay Shirodkar was cautioned for a foul on Joywin Costa, but that did little to slow the Police attack. Five minutes later, with Vasco’s defence caught completely flat, Vaibhav Naik broke through on goal and finished calmly to stretch the lead to 3-0. Vaibhav nearly added another in the 66th minute when he found himself one-on-one once again, only for Das to pull off a crucial stop.
Vasco finally found a response in the 71st minute. Vellington Almeida picked up the ball just outside the box and unleashed a clean strike that whistled past the keeper to make it 3-1 and offer a brief glimmer of hope. But the Goa Police extinguished that quickly. In the 75th minute, Mayuresh Naik struck again to restore the three-goal cushion.
Then the floodgates opened. Deepak Naik took advantage of yet another defensive lapse in the 80th minute, slotting home to push the margin to 5-1. Moments later, Michael Silva brought down Kunal Salgaonkar and was booked. The resulting free-kick was dispatched expertly by Kunal, making it 6-1 in the 84th minute.
Goa Police closed the evening in style as Mayuresh completed his brace in the 90th minute, finishing another move that tore through the Vasco backline, sealing an emphatic 7-1 victory.
At Nagoa Ground, the meeting between Pax of Nagoa SC and Bidesh XI SC ended in a 0-0 draw.
