PANAJI
Sporting Clube de Goa beat Sao Minguel Taleigao 1-0 to displace FC Bardez and reach on top of the GFA Pro League table.
The first half sub Victorino Fernandes' (42’) goal was the difference between the two sides at Duler Stadium on Wednesday. With this win Sporting pocketed 21 points from 9 outings to take the pole position while Sao Minguel continues to languish at the bottom.
Mateus Costa made two changes to the side that beat Corps last week. Quan Gomes and Mauvin Borges were handed starts at the expense of Glan Martins and Seriton Fernandes. Gaffer adopted a 4-1-3-2 formation with Daryl Costa and Francis Dadzie leading the attack.
The initial phase saw Sao Minguel put up a good defensive approach to keep a wave of Sporting attack at t bay. Sporting had a good opportunity within 10 minutes from the kick-off which saw the Ghanaian Dadzie head a good cross straight into the hands of the keeper. With Sporting attacking failing to break down a resilient Sao Minguel defense, gaffer Costa introduced his go to man Victorino Fernandes in the 38th minute who made an instant impact in the match. His first touch of the ball created an opportunity between him and Dadzie however the former’s shot was deflected for a corner. The resulting move was smartly mapped by Harpreet Singh who took a short corner and picked out Victorino in a thickly flooded box who connected perfectly to drill the ball into the nets making sure Sporting walked back at the half time with a lead.
Crossing over Sporting went on a full-fledged offensive mode. Victorino and Dadzie easily created six stunning chances among themselves but nothing went past the keeper. In the 52nd minute Victorino set up Dadzie with a beautiful cross and the former scored a stunning goal but was surprisingly flagged offside which left Sporting officials and their supporters fuming. In the 60th minute, Victorino once again picked out a charging Daryl on the right but the latter’s header was deflected out for a corner. In the 65th minute Ponif Vaz of Sporting received his marching order for a second yellow due to a silly challenge towards the corner flag.
With the tensions building high another drama unfolded when the lines man flagged Sporting’s Victorino offside when he received a throw in. Sporting’s offensive approach in spite of being a man down did create gaps in their defence but the Sao Minguel counter attacks lacked the temperament to get past the strong Nigerian defender Loveday Eninnaya who was having an exceptional evening on the pitch. Sporting held on to their lead till the final whistle to go home with full three points.
