PANAJI
FC Goa were held to a draw by Sporting Clube de Goa in their first game after the resumption of the Goa Pro League, at the Duler Stadium in Mapusa on Thursday.
The Gaurs stayed true to their footballing philosophy and the playing style that they are best known for, as they dominated ball possession and dictated terms in the midfield, especially in the first half.
FC Goa kick-started proceedings by getting the ball rolling, and they created their earliest goal-scoring chance in the 7th minute. Brison Fernandes, who made his ISL debut earlier last month, found an advancing Mevan Dias on the right side with an inch-perfect pass. The latter played a good ball into the Sporting box, which, however, had no takers.
In the next few minutes, Delton Colaco showed what he was capable of as he unleashed back-to-back shots. He caught the goalkeeper off his line with his second attempt and it would have been the Gaurs’ first goal of the match had it not missed the target narrowly.
FC Goa finally got the goal that they were working hard for, in the 35th minute. A brilliant pass from the midfield found Velroy Fernandes, who then side-stepped the advancing goalkeeper and tucked the ball into an empty net. Four minutes later, the midfielder got another opportunity to score and double his team’s lead but missed the target from just outside the box.
The second half was a heated affair with the Sporting players occasionally resorting to not-so-friendly challenges on the Gaurs. One such instance resulted in an injury for left-back Deeshank Kunkalikar. Just after the hour mark, Sporting Clube got their equaliser through Rohit Totad. Goa goalkeeper Hansel Coelho was in no position to save the forward’s acrobatic attempt and could only watch it as it bounced into the net.
The Gaurs, however, did not give up and remained relentless in their pursuit for the winning goal. They also created a couple of good chances towards the end, but it was not to be as both teams returned home with a point each.
