the goan I network
PANAJI
Goan FC scored a narrow 2-1 win over Guardian Angel Sports Club in the inaugural match of the Goa Sevens Premier League, organised by Goa Sevens and Ambelim Sports Club in association with Goa Football Association (GFA) at Ambelim Sports Complex, Ambelim on Saturday.
Substitute Liston Colaco and Kingslee Fernandes scored for the young Gaurs while Aslon Olivera got on to the scoresheet for Guardian Angel SC.
Goan FC fielded a strong outfit for their opening game of the Goa Sevens Premier League (GSPL) with junior India national player Princeton Rebello leading the young Gaurs. On the other hand, the Curchorem side -- with a strong fan support -- relied more on their Pro League stars, Nicolao Colaco, Perryson Rebello and Aniston
Fernandes.
Both the sides got off to an even start but it was the Curchorem side that looked strong on the field in the initial minutes as Guardian skipper Nicolau Colaco’s shot missed the target. Aniston Fernandes’s curling shot off a free kick again missed
the target.
Goan FC should have taken the lead in the 10th minute as Kingslee Fernandes fed Aaren D’SIlva with a perfect ball inside the box but the latter’s shot was kept at bay by the Curchorem keeper Fayaz Shaikh. The Gaurs finally managed to surge ahead after much attempts in the 18th minute after Leander D’Cunha fed Kingslee Fernandes with a short ball inside the box which was swiftly placed into the nets. The Guardian Angel side tried their best to find the equaliser in the first half but poor finishing denied them.
Crossing over, both the teams began on an equal footing with just attack in the mind. However, it was Goan FC who came close to scoring when Aaren was perfectly laid by Princton upfront but the striker’s effort was parried by Guardian Angel keeper Fayaz Shaikh. Fayan was in thick of action in the next five minutes when he came with flying saves to deny Kingslee and Aaren D’Silva. At the other end, Guardian Angel SC finally found the back of the nets through Aslon Olivera.
Finding themselves on equal terms, coach Clifford Miranda brought in Liston Colaco and Hayden Fernandes to further bolster the eleven and the change was clearly visible as the duo made instant impact in the team. The Gaurs finally found the match winner through Liston Colaco. Savior Gama on receiving the ball from Princeton Rebello ran down the left flank before dribbling past a couple of rival defenders to set up perfectly for Liston Colaco and the latter made no mistake to slam the ball into the empty net, much to the dismay of the rival keeper Fayaz, who otherwise had a brilliant game. Meanwhile, his opposition custodian Dylan Inacio Da Silva bagged the Man of the Match for his heroics in the second half which kept his team into the game.
Earlier, the tournament officially kicked off with chief guest Churchill Alemao, MLA of Benaulim constituency, kicking-off the match proceedings in the presence of Goa Sevens President Benjamin Silva and other
dignitaries.
