Penha de Franca qualified for the GFA
Professional League after Panjim Footballers were held to
a 2-2 draw in their final match of the GFA First Division
season against Goa Velha Sports Club, at Goa Velha
ground.
Penha de Franca finished second behind Salgaocar
Juniors on 43 points while Panjim Footballers finished
third with 41 points.
Meanwhile, Vagator Parish Youth SC were relegated to
Second Division league following their massive 4-11
defeat to Goa Police SC at Duler Stadium, Mapusa.
Vagator PYSC needed just a point to secure their safety
and cement their place in the First Division league while
Goa Velha needed atleast draw and hope Vagator lose
their final match of the season.
Goa Velha SC finished 10th in the league with 18 points, a
point ahead Vagator PYSC who finished last with 17
points.
The First Division League went down to wire, as Panjim
Footballers needed a win to seal their place in Goa’s top
tier league. The Panjim outfit shot into the lead through
Harshad Naik in the 21st minute and looked to walk into
the Pro League after dominating the first half.
The host needed just a draw to save their fate as Vagator
PYSC were down 6-1 at the break at Duler Stadium. The
news brought life in the Goa Velha camp as they came
back strongly post resumption and didn’t take long to
level terms through Chandan Gawas.
Backed by handful spectators which included Penha de
Franca players, Goa Velha shot into the lead to stun the
Panjim Footballers camp in the 57th minute through Arun
Naik.
The final ten minutes turned into a nervy affair as Panjim
Footballers equalised through Darryl Costa, late into the
game.
Goa Velha’s resolute defending made it difficult for Panjim
team to find the match-winner.
Meanwhile at Duler Stadium, Goa Police Sports Club
scored a huge 11-4 win over Vagator Parish Youth Sports
Club.
At halftime the winners led 6-1.
It was Vagator who had the first crack at the rival goal
when in the 12th minute Nitesh Salgaonkar made a
vicious run into the Goa Police danger zone and set the
ball on platter to Omkar Satelkar who was a wee bit late
in getting his feet to the ball.
A minute later Goa Police took the lead when Rajesh
Salgaonkar on getting hold of the ball from Abdul Khan
unleashed a power-packed long range effort which had no
answer from the Vagator keeper, 1-0.
Boosted by the lead Goa Police were all over their rival
territory and fired in goals at regular intervals through
Sachin Chopdekar (3), Nevil Soares and skipper Milind
Shinde.
Vagator tried their level best to claw their way back into
the match however Rama Parsenkar right footer missed
the Goa Police goal by a whisker and then Omkar Satlekar
faltered from close range.
At the brink of halftime, Vagator managed to get a goal to
their credit when Izahar Khan beautifully controlled a long
floater and drilled the ball past the advancing Goa Police
custodian, 1-6.
Changing over pinned their rivals in their own backyard
and kept the goals coming where first Sachin Chopdekar
positioned himself perfectly to give finishing touches to
Abdul Khan’s pass, 7-1.
Nevil Soares managed to complete his hat-trick, scoring
in the 58th and 63rd minute of play.
In the 66th minute of play Shubham Shetgaonkar
managed to reduce the score for Vagator when he scored
from the penalty spot after the referee found Punaji
Kalangutkar guilty of bringing on a harsh tackle on Nitesh
Salgaonkar.
Thereon Goa Police went on to score twice with Rajesh
Salgaonkar and substitute Loyed Rebelo getting their
names on the scorers list, while for Vagator scored
through Nitesh Salgaonkar and Sylvester Dias finish off
the match at 11-4.
Last year was to sponsor on 50 lakh deal but gfa asked more and it fell thought don't know if this season they will find a sponsor. telecast possible on local cable TV.
Comments