MAPUSA: Guardian Angel Sports Club surrendered their one goal lead and had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Calangute Association in the seventh round match of the Goa Pro League, at Duler Stadium, here, on Monday.
In an evenly contested encounter, the teams seemed determined to collect full three points, however they failed to find the back of the net in the first session of play.
Calangute Association were the first to have a clear look at the rival goal, when in the 28th minute Nigerian import Felix Odili flashed the ball dangerously across the rival goal but Yogesh Kadam failed to head the ball into the nets.
In a quick repeat of events, Felix once again sent a cross to Joel Sequeira who in turn set up Latesh Mandrekar. However, the latter failed to score from hand-shaking distance.
Guardian Angel SC too had a chance to break the deadlock in the first session but Harold Fernandes on being set up by Gammy Costa failed to direct his strike into the Calangute Association goal.
Minutes before the halftime whistle, Guardian Angel SC keeper Benzu Clement came with a good save to push the ball to safety before Kouame Joseph Yao could head home a George D’Souza cross.
Crossing over, Guardian Angel SC were placed with a golden opportunity to take the lead in the 52nd minute when referee Mario Pereira found Calangute Association skipper George D’Souza guilty of handling the ball inside the danger zone and pointed to the penalty spot.
Anthony Pereira who stepped forward made no mistake in scoring from the penalty spot.
Minutes later, the Savordem side almost made it 2-0 but Calangute Association keeper Melroy Fernandes managed to block Djourou Isaac Ouedji’s strike at the goal.
Calangute Association tried hard to get back into the match and tasted success in the 77th minute of play when Meldon D’Silva beat his marker to head home a Felix Odili curling free-kick from outside the 18-yard box.
