Salgaocar FC handed their first loss to FC Bardez Goa as they beat them 0-2 in the Goa Professional League match played at Duler Stadium earlier today.

FC Bardez stared without their key players centre-back Mathew Gonsalves and skipper Peter Carvalho.

Salgoacar went into the break with a one goal cushion. Balwinder Singh and Liston Colaco scored in each half to confirm their victory. Both teams shared equal possession of the ball.

Salgaocar stated the game in good spirits as their first shot on goal was deflected by Rowilson Rodriguez. Few minutes later Linston Colaco again took the ball passed the FC Bardez defence but Luckily Rowilson cleared it. In the 13th minute Alesh Sawant tried his first shot on goal which went wide.

Richard Costa got a yellow card in the 24th minute for tackling Brian giving away a free-kick just 20 yards away from goal , Brian took the shot that went over the crossbar. The Slagoacar skipper almost put the ball in his own net on 28 minutes as Alesh crossed the ball in the Salgaocar box in turn Myron failed to connect.

Just two minutes later Gilbert was in action again this time at the oppsite end as a cornerkick was played short to him and he crossed it in the box. None of the FC Bardez defenders could clear the ball instead Balwinder Singh headed it home to make it 0-1 to the Greens.

Brian Mascarenhas almost doubled the score for the Greens in the 40th minute as his freekick was just a whisker away from goal. Jessel Carneiro priduced a superb cross in the 54th minute inside the Salgaocar box, Chatur Naik couldn’t finish it.
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Four minutes later Alesh Sawant got the ball inside the box, but his shot was saved by the Salgaocar keeper. FC Bardez got a corner in the 71st minute, Alesh Sawant took it and crossed it in but Rowilson’s header was straight at the keeper.

Than Richard produced a lovely cross inside the Salgaocar box, but Myron couldn’t direct the header inside the goal. In the 79th minute Alesh found Lenstan who headed the ball inside the goal but was called offside by the Referee.

Two minutes later Salgaocar Doubled their score as Lston netted from a pass by Rosario Mendes.

Salgaocar Coach Norbet Gonsalves was happy with the result and said, “My boys played well. All we wanted is three points weather you play good game or not but the boys played well and they are going to improve.”

FC Bardez Press Release

GOA: Sporting Clube De Goa demolished Churchill Bros SC 4 -0 in their opening match at Duler Football Stadium on Tuesday evening. Sporting completely outplayed the Red Machines in every department. The latter not even managing one single shot on target. Basant Rai of Churchill opened the score line for Sporting with an own goal in the 24^th minute, while Cajetan Fernandes (41’) Glan Martins (63’) & Victorino Fernandes (74’) got on the score sheet for Sporting.

The initial quarter saw a fairly balanced play with both managing a handful of half chances at either ends. It was Sporting who went full throttle as their attack line consisting of Victorino, Glan & Quan Gomes toyed with the clueless Churchill defense. It was in the 24^thminute that a heavy clearance from Loveday Eninnaya found Victorino at the front who pushed for the goal, however the Churchill defender Basant Rai made a dash clearing the ball into his own nets. After this it was all Sporting, Churchill Bros defenders found it hard to contain Victorino’s pace which allowed Quan and Glan to operate smoothly in the mid creating numerous chances. In the 41^st minute Sporting won a free kick about 35 yards off the nets, Cajetan Fernandes stood up and slotted the ball into the top right corner giving the keeper no chance. The score stayed 2 – 0 in favour of Sporting at the half time.

Crossing over Sporting picked up where they left off. Gaffer Mateus Costa introduced Seriton Fernandes which proved to be effective as the winger combined with Victorino well while Churchill defense found it further hard to contain Sporting’s pace. In the 63^rd minute Glan Martins latched on to a loose ball in a thickly populated box to beat his marker and drill in a powerful shot making it 3-0. Gaffer Costa quickly got Martins out and introduced Ganesh Thakur who set up Victorino for a photo finish serving the ball right into the slot for the latter to make it 4 -0 in the 74^th minute. The final quarter saw Sporting seal off the defense giving very little room for Churchill Bros forwards to operate. With this win Sporting climb on top of the Goa Pro League table with a healthy goal difference.

A jubilant Mateus Costa said “We needed this kind of a start, it’s good to see the boys play with confidence. We stuck to what we do in training and this is exactly the kind of result we get when that happens.”

He further said “Now we travel for the Durand Cup and we are confident we can continue this form there as well.”

SCG Press Release

 

GOA: Reigning Champions Sporting Clube de Goa open their Goa Pro League title defense against the South Goa giants Churchill Brothers at Duler Stadium, Mapusa on Tuesday. The two already played each other in the Goa Police Cup 2016 group stages in which Sporting got better of the Red Machines. However Churchill Bros will remember their performance in the opening match of the previous edition of Goa Pro League where they managed to upset the Flaming Oranje.

Speaking about preparations for the match Sporting Gaffer Mateus Costa said. “Tomorrow will be a good game for all of us; it won’t be easy because Churchill Bros are a strong team with some good players. The win in our previous encounter will definitely give some additional confidence to our boys.”

But Costa also stressed on the point that this is completely a new start “Well at the back of our minds we do know we have beaten them but this is a new day and a new start. What happened was good but we are not relaxed, we will give our best on the pitch tomorrow.”

He further added “We need to send the right message, the first few matches are always very important. A good start will set the momentum right. We want to start on a positive note and go home with 3 points.”

He also mentioned “Tomorrows match is important because we leave for Durand Cup after this round so a win here can be a good moral boost.”

Speaking about the previous season Costa mentioned “We remember how things went south last time around; we do not want to repeat those mistakes. We faltered in maintaining our focus and that’s what cost us the first two matches last time. We will ensure that doesn’t happen now.”

Speaking about the current squad at disposal Costa said “At Sporting we try to improve all our players – it’s not important if he is the best player, young player or any other. What is important to us is he is our player and we will make sure to bring out the best in him.”

As this will be the first heavy weight clash of Goa Pro League this season one can expect an exciting encounter on the cards.