Goa Pro League action between Sporting Clube de Goa and Geno FC at Duler on Thursday.
PANAJI
Sporting Clube de Goa and Geno FC played out a goalless draw in the Goa Professional League at Duler Stadium in Mapusa on Thursday.
Sporting Clube started on the front foot and pressed relentlessly for an early breakthrough. Their momentum was briefly halted when Edwin Viegas brought down Geno’s Sankalp Kankonkar on the left flank. From the resulting set-piece, Deeshank rolled the ball to Gourav, who struck first time, but his shot went narrowly wide.
Moments later, Gourav launched a long pass from midfield to Sarineo Fernandes on the left. Sarineo controlled with his chest cut inside the box and unleashed a shot, only to be denied by a superb sliding block from Edwin Viegas.
At the other end, Sporting’s Aaron Barreto swung in a dangerous cross from the right towards Naocha but the Geno defence cleared the danger. Myron Fernandes soon followed with another teasing delivery from the right, finding Viegas at the far post, who nodded it into the path of Naocha. The forward met it with a first-time half-volley but his effort sailed just wide.
Sporting kept pushing as Doyal Alves sent a low cross from the left towards the near post with Naocha and Prince both charging in but neither could apply the finishing touch, allowing the Geno goalkeeper to collect safely. Despite Sporting Clube’s dominance the first half ended goalless.
The second half began with both sides pushing hard in search of the opening goal. Sporting’s Mark Carvalho delivered a precise cross for Niraj Parekh, who controlled near the touchline and fired a strike that rippled the side netting. Minutes later, Myron Fernandes sent in another dangerous cross from inside the box, finding Doyal Alves, whose header missed the target by inches.
Sporting continued to threaten as Doyal dribbled past his marker on the right flank and squared a low pass to Samuel Costa at the edge of the box. Samuel met it cleanly with a low drive but his shot rolled just wide of the post.
Geno looked to respond through Akeraj Martin, who caused problems for the Sporting defence, while Nigel Fernandes tried to weave his way into the box in the final minutes.
In stoppage time, Mark Carvalho brought down Nigel Fernandes just outside the box, giving Geno one last chance. Deeshank stepped up for the free kick but fired well over the bar.
Neither side could find a breakthrough as the match ended in a goalless stalemate at Duler Stadium.
