MARGAO
The finals turned out to be a Goan derby between Goan power houses Salgaocar FC versus Dempo SC. The Greens dominated majority of the match with good skills. Umesh Harijan and Pedro Gonsalves marshalled the mid-field with good combination play. The first half was played goalless. The second half was of full excitement which saw goals and flashes of red cards. It was Pedro Gonsalves who opened the scoring in the finals with a sublime finish, leaving rivals keeper with no chance. It was late in the 80th minute when SFC goalkeeper Bruno Colaco brought down a Dempo man inside the box, the referee pointed to the spot and much to the surprise of everyone Bruno saw red. Beevan D’Mello stepped up to convert the chance and put Dempo on equal terms.
Not long after the celebrations, Clencio Pinto of Salgaocars was brought down in the box and Pedro once again added his name to the score sheet making it 2-1. Pedro completed his hat-trick in great style as he placed his shot well out from 25-30 yards which settled the game. Nixon Castanha was sent off for Dempo with a rash tackle. The finals ended with a 3-1 victory in favour of the current Goan champions Salgaocar FC.
Earlier in the tournament, Salgaocar played three
matches. The opening match was was against Abbas Union FC, Hyderabad who had two foreigners to strengthen their squad, but that did not bother Salgaocar FC when they took the field. Aslon Oliviera, Brian Masacarenhas and Suraj Hadkonkar scored for Salgaocar who won 3-0, which set the momentum for the their semi-finals.
Salgaocar FC met Mumbai FC in the semi-finals which ended in a draw, and in the shoot-out,the Goan outfit
prevailed 4-1.
