MARGAO
Defending champions Goa went down to Nagaland 1-2 in the final of the 6th Agape Cup National Football Championship at the Indira Gandhi Stadium at Kohima, Nagaland. Goa started the match without Paulo Joao, who was the rock in the defence, as he had to return home due to an emergency which put pressure on the team psychologically. They started well and had a lion’s share of ball possession, however it did not seem to be the day of the defending champions from the previous edition held in Gangtok in 2019.
It was in the 12th minute that Goa could have gone into the lead with a superb run by the captain Filbert Pereira who put an excellent pass to Ashley who ran a few yards and then had the better of the onrushing Naga goalkeeper with a chip over his head and with no one in the goal, shot into the outside netting.
There were several good moves from the Nagaland team as well as Elton Godinho and Stephen Martin, who were manning the Goa defence, thwarted some good moves and goalkeeper Ajay also made one good save. However Nagaland found the lead in the injury time of the first half through a corner when Dupisa headed past Ajay.
Immediately after the break, Goa had several moves made through Mathew Colaco and Kevin Almeida but the Nagaland did everything possible not to allow the Goa team surge ahead. In the process, Mecievi took advantage of a mix-up and increased the margin in the 14th minute of second half.
The Goan boys made a comeback with a goal scored from a cross from the right flank by Ashley Rodrigues to Joshua D’Silva, the Rosary College student, who slammed the ball past a defender and the keeper five minutes before the final whistle. The Goan boys were then kept at bay by the Nagaland team and had to settle for the runners-up position.
Tianuksung of Nagaland received the award for highest scorer of the tournament with six goals. The Nagaland Football Association president K Neibou Sekhose was the chief guest for the final and had words of praise for Goa's performance. The NFA president gave away the prizes to the winners.
