MARGAO
Hosts Goa will take on Services in their opening league match of the National Games football on Monday evening at Fatorda Stadium.
The Derrick Pereira-coached side are placed in Group A alongside Karnataka, Services and Punjab. The experienced coach who recently guided Goa to victory in the Santosh Trophy group qualifiers in Goa will be keen to emulate the same success with the team at the National Games.
The former India defender knows he faces an uphill task, given the fact that he had let go the services of some 10 players who were called for duty by their respective clubs for the I-League competition.
Derrick, who didn't have much time to assemble the squad, is confident of his back line doing well but felt that the strikers need to be sharp and focused in front of the goal.
“Our mantra is simple; stay together and support each other, on and off the field. Once on the field, we attack together and we fall back to support,” coach Derrick had said a few days back.
One key striker that Derrick will miss is Trijoy Dias, who gave his everything in the attack and pressed his opponents when Goa did not have the ball during the Santosh Trophy championship in Goa.
After a one-day gap, the hosts take on Karnataka at the same venue and end their league engagements with a match against Punjab. The other group consists of Kerala, Meghalaya, Manipur and Maharashtra.
The league engagements end on November 4 and resume after a day’s break, with the semifinals on November 6. The final and third-place challenge will be held on November 8.
