MARGAO
Arunachal Pradesh made short work of Goa 3-0 in Group D of Junior U-17 Women's Football Championship 2022-23 in the concluding tie at Indira Gandhi Atheltic Stadium, Guwahati on Saturday.
The result sent Goa crashing out of the championship after an underwhelming campaign in which they managed to clinch just one point. Goa finished at the bottom with the point (two losses and one draw) as Arunachal Pradesh finished undefeated with five points.
Arunachal Pradesh dominated the game and pushed their opponents on the back foot. Tallo Ana rocked the Goa citadel in the very 3rd minute. Goa tried their best but rival defenders stood tall in protecting their citadel.
Post resumption, Arunachal Pradesh continued in same vein and Angel Tayang put the issue beyond doubt. Tallo Ana sealed the Goa fate in the 67th minute when she slotted past the rival goalkeeper with a snap shot to register her brace.
“It’s sad that Goa bowed out so early. The group phase should have been a cakewalk. We are supposed to be a big brand in football but this shouldn’t have happened. It’s a good lesson for us. We should work towards rectifying the areas we need to improve,” stated Anthony Mam Fernandes, GFA executive member cum vice-chairman of coaching cell. He also said that GFA had not taken him into confidence while selecting the team.
Another GFA member Prakash Dessai was also saddened with the result of the team. “It’s a result which we least expected. We are sad about the result and the exit of the team." He blamed GFA for not going in the right direction and added that there is no professional approach used by GFA and because of this mess, the teams have to suffer.
“Did we really lose to Arunachal Pradesh? This is totally unacceptable. Have we fallen so low in terms of football standards? I just can’t believe this. We need to work on our system as we have the best talent which is ignored by the governing body,” stated a football fan from Chinchinim.
