the goan I network
DULER
Calangute Association played their hearts out but it was not enough to earn them a point from an evenly contested match as Sporting Clube de Goa beat them 3-1 in the Goa Professional League, in a match played at Duler Stadium on Sunday.
Marcus Mascarenhas scored a brace, while Victorino Fernandes scored the other goal for Sporting. Sachidanand Satelkar scored the lone goal for the beachside team. This win helped the Flaming Orange climb to the third position with 35 points from 15 outings, while Calangute remained at 11th position with just 13 points from 20 matches.
Sporting coach Mateus Costa made many changes to his side following a goalless draw against Guardian Angel SC in their last match as Egyptian midfielder Fady Riad, Marcus, Quan Gomes, Schubert D’Costa and U-20 defender Suresh Thapa were named in the starting XI. Calangute, who had lost to Goan FC in their last match, also had a few changes to their side as their coach Agostinho Dias brought back Sachidanand, Jayganesh Goltekar and Rup Das in the line-up.
Going into the match, Sporting Clube enjoyed a psychological advantage as the Flaming Orange had edged Calangute by a solitary goal in the early November when the two teams met earlier in the league. Calangute though had a golden opportunity to stun the defending champions in the 7th minute when they were awarded a penalty by referee Prasad Surlekar when Sporting defender Clive Miranda brought down Senegalese striker Abdoul Fall in the box. However, midfielder Sidath Ndiaye’s shot from the spot kick was brilliantly saved by Sporting keeper Melroy Fernandes.
Sporting, who were the dominant side from the start, took 25 minutes to open their tally as George D’Souza sent a perfect cross in the box where skipper Victorino failed to capitalise but onrushing striker Marcus tapped the ball home from close to put his side ahead. Ten minutes later, Calangute had a chance to level the terms when Fall set up Ndiaye with a through pass. Fall covered some ground and was in a commanding position to score but the Senegalese medio chose to pass it to his team-mate and Sporting defender George quickly cleared the danger.
Sporting doubled their lead from a counter-attack as Glan made a pin-point through pass to Victorino who clinically finished the ball at the first post with a powerful shot from just inside the box to make it 2-0 for his side. With just a few minutes left to the half time, Sporting had an easy chance to inflate their lead when Calangute defender Gaurav Vaigankar brought down Sporting U-20 midfielder Stendly Fernandes in the box to concede a penalty but Calangute keeper Sanij Bugde made a diving effort to block Sporting skipper Victorino’s spot kick.
Calangute then reduced the margin in the last minute of the session when Senegalese midfielder Ndiaye set up Sachidanand in the box with a headed pass. The winger smartly finished the ball in the nylons to make it 2-1 for his side. Calangute continued their attacking from the start of the second session and twice came close to scoring.
Sporting also made a few raids on the opponents but Calangute defence line led by Gaurav and Jayganesh, along with Runal and Danish Shaikh, cleared every danger on their way. However, in the 82nd minute, Marcus was again successful in breaking Calangute’s defence as he nicely chested down substitute Girish Naik’s lobbed pass and blasted the ball home from six yards to make it 3-1 for the Flaming Orange.
