DULER
Goan Football Club, despite being a man down, managed to get the better of Football Club de Bardez in a 14th round match of the Goa Professional League organised by GFA by 4-2 margin, played at Duler stadium, here on Monday.
With the win, Goan FC took their tally to 17 points from 11 matches, while FC Bardez stay on 15 points from 10 matches.
The supporters from both the teams and some few spectators who witnessed the match were glued to their seats till the final hooter. Goan FC colts dominated and went into the changing room with a one-goal cushion coming from the placement of Leander D’Cunha, while their opponents scored their second goal in the 94th minute through Inacio
Colaco.
Young Gaurs coach Clifford Miranda, though seeing his team win the last league match against Dempo SC by a 3-0 margin, brought four changes in his starting line-up -- Meldon D’Silva, Hayden Fernandes, Kingslee Fernandes and Brian Faria. At the other end, FC Bardez, having drawn against Vasco SC, saw their coach Armando Colaco bring three changes in his starting line-up -- Viraj Naik, Ronil Azavedo and Danstan Fernandes.
It was Pink Brigade’s Ronil Azavedo who came close in opening the team’s account, but his header from close sailed over the horizontal bar. Minutes later, Liston Colaco danced past a couple of rival defenders and sent the ball at the goal which was timely cleared by Bardez defender Gaurav Vaigankar.
As the match progressed, Bardez keeper Aliston Fernandes made two quick saves in the 23rd and 226th minutes. First he thwarted Aaren D’Silva in a one-to-one situation and then pushed a 35-yard free kick from Liston Colaco for a corner. However, the custodian could do very little to stop Young Gaurs from taking the lead in the 28th minute. Yasir Mohammad sent a through pass to Leander D’Cunha who finished with a neat placement, 1-0.
In the 33rd minute, Pink Brigade almost equalised but Shubham Dessai saw his tap off a cross from Jessel Carneiro go over the goal post. On crossing over, it was a thrilling encounter as the young Gaurs, who were more aggressive, pumped in three more goals while conceding two goals.
In the 48th minute a well executed free kick by Yasir Mohammad was coolly tapped into the goal by Lalnunsiama, 2-0. Trailing by two goals, Bardez got back into the match when in the 52nd minute Kirtikesh Gadekar sent a square pass to a well positioned Ronil Azavedo who tapped it home, 2-1.
If not for some brilliant keeping by Aliston Fernandes, the Gaurs would have added two more goals to their kitty as the keeper blocked Liston Colaco and Yasir Mohammad’s strikes. In the 64th minute, Goan FC received a jolt when referee Mario Pereira gave marching orders to Brian Faria for a double booking.
The sending off the player did not dampen the spirit of the young Gaurs as they pumped in two more goals. The third goal came from the penalty spot by Liston Colaco and the fourth from a neat placement by Krishna Pandit. FC Bardez were unlucky as Micky Vaz failed to score from the penalty spot as Goan FC keeper Mohammad Nawaz brought a full stretched diving save.
When the spectators were on their way to the exit door in the four minutes of added-on time, the Pink Brigade scored their second goal. Inacio Colaco intercepted a back pass off Jason Barbosa and scored to make it 4-2.
