the goan I network
DULER
Meldon D’Silva’s 90+2nd-minute header enabled Football Club of Goa Reserves to hold Ozone Football Club to a 1-1 draw in the Second Division I-League at the floodlit Duler Stadium, here on Wednesday.
After Brazilian striker Robert de Souza had scored in the 82nd minute for Ozone, Meldon rescued the home team through his added-time header.
Ozone need a win in the next match against Kerala Blasters FC (Reserves) to confirm their place in the final round as they top the table with 19 points from nine matches, while the Goan side has just six points from nine outings.
Young Gaurs coach Clifford Miranda made four changes to his side, which had lost to FC Kerala in the last match, fielding goalkeeper Mohammad Nawaz, defenders Lalnunsiama, Saviour Gama and Brian Faria.
At the other end, Brazilian striker Robert de Souza and Goan defender Lenstan Afonso were named in the Starting XI by their English coach David Booth following their goalless outing against Fateh Hyderabad AFC in the last match.
Young Gaurs came close to opening the account in the 7th minute when skipper Liston Colaco was left with just keeper Abhishek Das to beat, but the Ozone custodian promptly parried the ball, to safety.
A few minutes later, Ozone had a scoring opportunity as Vinil Poojary tried to find forward Sabeeth Sathyen near the goal-mouth with a fine cross from the right, but FC Goa defender Franzil Isaac Negredo cleared the danger before the rival striker could reach the ball.
At the other end, Ozone custodian came up with another fine save, as this time he made an acrobatic effort to deny Jason Barbosa’s powerful strike from 10 yards. Another chance went in vain for the Bengaluru side in the 39th minute, when their Brazilian forward Robert brilliantly controlled the ball inside the box and fired a powerful shot from close. However, his strike missed the target by a whisker.
In the closing stages of the session, FC Goa goalkeeper Nawaz came up with two brilliant saves, as he first blocked Vignesh D’s fierce shot from the top of the box off Robert’s diagonal pass in the box; and a few minutes later, the Brazilian striker tried his luck from inside the box with an overhead kick but Nawaz had no problem collecting the goal-bound strike.
On crossing ends, the match was restricted to midfield for the first few minutes, which ended with a swift attack from Ozone but home side defender Negredo cleared the ball for a corner. The visitors had a great chance from the resultant corner as Vignesh found Robert with a fine delivery, but the Brazilian striker saw his strong header sail over the crossbar. A few minutes later, Ozone were awarded a free-kick just outside the box, and the South Korean free-kick specialist Yongchan Son’s goal-bound strike at the first post was blocked by rival keeper Nawaz.
After some probing attacks, the visitors finally surged ahead in the 82nd minute when Vignesh Gunashekhar sent an intelligent through-pass to Robert, who finished with a stiff grounder which hit the far-post before bulging the back of the nylons. However, the never-say-die spirit from the Young Gaurs saw them level the terms in the 92nd minute when Meldon brilliantly headed in from close range off Liston Colaco’s free-kick to make it 1-1.
