MARGAO
Sporting Clube de Goa scored an emphatic 2-0 win over group favourites ARA FC to finish their group campaign atop Group A of I-League 3. With the result, they are well-placed to progress into the final round of the third-tier club competition as the group toppers. Sporting Clube ended with 10 points with three wins and one draw from their four matches.
In the final group match at Jagran Lake City University ground, Bhopal, Sporting Clube surged ahead in the 40th minute of play through Rohan Rodrigues, who shot home a thunderous grounder from the left. Lloyd Cardozo sealed the win in the 56th minute when he shot home off a Samuel Costa pass, beating the rival keeper to make it 2-0.
Sporting Clube competitions director and manager Angelo Albuquerque said, "It was nice to be back at the national stage after a gap of seven years. The team played exceptionally well throughout their campaign with the defence marshalled by Joyner Lourenco rock solid, having maintained a clean sheet throughout the tournament with Bhaskar Jalmi in goal. We hope to qualify for the next round and very soon hope to be in the Elite League soon."
In another match, Lake City Football Club beat New Friends Club, Dantewada 7-2. Lake City are placed second with seven points from three matches with two wins and a draw. Sporting Clube now have to await the result of the match between Lake City and ARA FC, wherein Lake City will need to beat ARA FC by a 7-goal margin to qualify ahead of Sporting Clube.
International Football Club and ARA FC have three points from three matches with one win and two losses while New Friends Club, Dantewada are rooted at the bottom of the table with no points from three matches.
