MARGAO
Playing in front of the home crowd, hosts Goa went down fighting to Karnataka 0-1 in the 37th National Games football (Men) group stage, at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, on Wednesday.
The first 30 minutes were dominated by Goa who exhibited exceptional teamwork and precision. Arnaldo Olveira was in thick action creating a scoring opportunity early on by setting up in the box. Clencio Pinto's cross, however, couldn’t find a recipient.
Midfielder Deeshank Kunalkar unleased a long-range shot which sailed over the crossbar. Vellington Fernandes found Clencio Pinto inside the rival penalty box whose rasping shot was parried away by Karnataka goalkeeperSrijit R. Goa had a golden chance in the 15th minute when Joshua D'Silva's header sailed over the crossbar off Delton Colaco's free-kick.
It was no surprise then when Karnataka took the lead in the 36th minute when striker Anikith P sent a defence-splitting pass to Vishal R who slotted past the Goa goalkeeper Ozen Silva after the Goa defence was caught off guard.
After taking the lead, Karnataka dominated possession and created the bulk of chances with their forwards making inroads inside the Goa penalty area. Karnataka had a chance to increase their tally in the 40th minute when Nikhil Kumar outpaced the rival defence and found Vishal whose reverse kick missed the target narrowly.
Throughout the second half, Karnataka ensured their tempo didn’t drop. Goa were feeding on scraps as G John Peter, Prasshanta Kaling turned the screws on tight.
Karnataka enjoyed more ball possession and constantly created inroads in the final second, the final ball or the finish was always lacking when Anikith P sped past the rival defence and essayed a fine through pass to Vishal who fumbled at crucial moments. Goa made several substitutions but it yielded no results. Lewan Castana's long-range shot narrowly missed by a few whiskers. At the other end, Karnataka, Anikith P and Vishal R created havoc almost every time they were on the ball Karnataka displayed dominant play and control. Anikith's stinging shot was well blocked by Goa's goalkeeper.
With this win, Karnataka collected four points from two matches and are in the reckoning of the semi-finals while Goa suffered their second defeat from the same number of outings to bow out of the championship.
