SCOREBOX
Karbi Anglong Morning Star FC 1 (Rahul Kumar Paswan 16') drew with Sporting Clube de Goa 1 (Doyal Alves 90+4')
---
PANAJI
Sporting Clube de Goa played out a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Karbi Anglong Morning Star FC (KAFC) in I-League 2 at KASA Stadium, Diphu, on Thursday, with a dramatic stoppage-time header from Doyal cancelling out Rahul Paswan's first-half opener and earning The Flaming Oranje a resilient point.
Doyal rose to meet a late delivery in the 90th+4 minute, heading beyond a helpless Sangramjit Chowdhury to level the scores and deny KAFC what had looked like a certain victory.
Sporting were put on the back foot as early as the 16th minute when a throw-in from the right flank found KAFC in a dangerous position. Goalkeeper Avilash pushed away the initial effort but could not recover in time as Rahul Paswan finished coolly from the left to put KAFC ahead.
The first half offered little relief for Sporting. KAFC threatened again from a corner in the 30th minute but failed to convert. Two minutes later, Joel Colaco was penalised for tripping Lalsiem Chongloi, but Sukham Meitei's free kick sailed wide and over. In the 39th minute, Naocha brought down PC Pazawna to concede a free kick, with Ricky Lallawmawma's effort from the left curling just past the post. In the 44th minute, Avilash came out to collect a KAFC corner. Yellow cards were shown to Vikas Singh of KAFC and Ivan Costa of Sporting in added time.
The second half remained tense but Sporting struggled to breach a disciplined KAFC backline. In the 84th minute, a tangle between PC Pazawna and Joel Colaco resulted in a free kick for KAFC in a promising central position, but Lalsiem Chongloi's effort cleared the crossbar.
With the clock winding down, Sporting refused to be beaten. In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Doyal rose to attack a delivery into the box and headed beyond Chowdhury, who appeared unsighted, to make it 1-1 and secure a point the Flaming Oranje will feel they earned through sheer persistence.
Sporting Clube de Goa will next face Sudeva Delhi FC at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, on April 14.
