PANAJI
Goa registered a hard-fought 1-0 win over Assam in their campaign opener of 76th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy, played at SAI STC ground, Assam, on Wednesday.
Goa scored the only goal of the game in the second half through Stendly Fernandes in the 49th minute.
Coach Norberto Gonsalves started with Hansel Coelho in goal with Shallum Pires and Clive Miranda pairing in defence. Harsh Patre, Stendly and Trijoy played in midfield with Clencio Pinto upfront.
In the sixth minute, Kirtikesh made a run in the box but his pass to Clencio at the goal was intercepted by the goalkeeper. Following that, the first half saw Goa mainly restrict their play in the midfield. In the 40th minute, Goa goalkeeper Hansel made a fine save to deny an Assam player from a goalmouth header. Assam played a pressing game in the first session.
Goa broke the deadlock in the 49th minute through Stendly, who scored a screamer. The Sporting Clube de Goa player lobbed the ball over an Assam player before striking from a distance. The Assam keeper had no answer to the shot.
In the 74th minute, Stendly missed a chance to give Goa a two-goal cushion. Once again, it was Clencio Pinto who made a fine run in the box and then played a cutback pass in the danger area. Stendly couldn’t connect properly as the ball rolled out for a goal kick.
Goa’s defence stood tall in the dying minutes of the game as Assam added extra men to their attack. Hansel made crucial interventions to deny the opponents an equaliser.
