PANAJI
Salgaocar FC and Dempo Sports Club played out a drab goalless draw in the Goa Football Association Selvel Goa Professional League at Duler Stadium, Mapusa, on Monday.
The play was mostly restricted to midfield for opening minutes and it was Salgaocar FC with the first attack of the game. Salgaocar’s Rollwin Almeida ran down the right flank and tried his luck with a shot that narrowly missed the mark.
Salgaocar almost stunned their opponents when they created an opportunity out of nothing. Rollwin on getting the ball in midfield got on the right and having the option of Aaron Baretto, he played Selwyn Miranda on the left. The last-named got inside the box and dribbled past two Dempo defenders and having options in the box, went straight at goal which hit the post and came back into the play. That was the closest either side came in the first half.
Dempo SC started the second half brightly with Beevan D’Mello sending in a defence-splitting pass to Richard. But before the youngster could reach it, Salgaocar’s Daniel Gomes cleared with a diving tackle in the box.
At the other end, Salgaocar's Aaron and Fhezer combined for a good move, wherein they dribbled past the Dempo backline only for the latter to miss his shot. Dempo were unlucky to score as Latesh Mandrekar’s goalbound shot was blocked by his own team-mate Beevan.
Dempo’s biggest chance came in the 64th minute. Richard ran down the right flank and sent a perfect delivery to Beevan. Instead of going alone, the skipper chose to pass to Kirtikesh Gadekar, whose shot hit the side netting. It was a wasted opportunity as the midfielder should have done better.
Salgaocar’s defence made it difficult for Dempo to penetrate and as such Richard tried his luck from a distance. The shot had the power and the dip, but it sailed over the bar. Dempo squandered the best chance through Edwin Viegas, who failed to tap in a Richard cross.
