Team Herald
sports@herald-goa.com
OLD GOA/MARGAO: Unbeaten FC Goa narrowly defeated Dempo SC, 2-1, in the final league match of the 2nd Edition Bhausaheb Bandodkar Memorial Trophy, organised by GFA, at Ella Ground, Old Goa on Friday.
With this victory, FC Goa topped the league table with nine points, while Dempo SC remained on three points. Dempo SC and Sporting Clube de Goa were eliminated from the competition.
For FC Goa, Boris Singh and Ayush Chhetri found the back of the net, while Shubham Rawat scored for Dempo SC. FC Goa had an early chance in the 5th minute when Boris Singh failed to connect with Borja Gonzalez's cross from close range.
Goa continued to pressure the Dempo defense and in the 17th minute, Boris Singh provided a defense-splitting pass to striker Armando Sadiku, who calmly slotted the ball past Dempo's helpless goalkeeper Ashish Sibi to make it 1-0.
Dempo tried to respond through the right flank with a couple of crosses from Kapil Hoble, but FC Goa's defense, led by Nim Dorjee, Jay Gupta, and goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani, stood firm. In the 25th minute, the young Gaurs nearly doubled their lead, but Borja Gonzalez's powerful shot from inside the 18-yard box was blocked by Dempo's defender Mohammed Ali.
In the second half, FC Goa's Muhammad Nemil had two goal-bound strikes saved by Dempo's goalkeeper Ashish in the 5th and 10th minutes. While FC Goa was on the attack, Dempo caught them off guard with a through pass from Kapil Hoble to Shubham Rawat, who finished clinically to level the score at 1-1.
However, it didn't take long for FC Goa to regain the lead. In the 60th minute, substitute Dejan Drazic unleashed a powerful shot that deflected off teammate Ayush Chhetri's foot and into the goal, securing a 2-1 victory for FC Goa.
At Nehru stadium, Fatorda, Brisbane Roar joined FC Goa in the semi-finals after dispatching Sporting Clube de Goa, 2-0, in a concurrent fixture. Louis Zabala opened the scoring with a simple tap-in from a right-wing cross, before Harry Van Der Saag doubled the lead with a well-placed header from a free-kick before halftime.