PANJIM: Goa failed yet again, crashing to their fifth successive defeat, a highly negative record of sorts, against Maharashtra 0-2 in the final match of Group A 76th National Santosh Trophy Football Tournament at Bhubaneswar, Odisha, today. They were trailing 0-1 at the break.
It was yet another catastrophy, as Goa instead of gaining their first points, allowed Maharashtra to record their first victory and in the process Maharashtra managed to overtake hosts Odisha to move to the fourth place with six points in the bargain. Himanshu Patil scored a brace for Maharashtra.
Goa, brought up the rear, without a single victory, not even a draw in the 6-member league which saw Punjab and Karnataka grab the two semi-final slots and earn a ticket to Saudi Arabia where the matches will now be played.
One does not recall whether such a misfortune befell Goan football at the National level in the past. None would have presaged the dreadful fate in Goan football. There must be lessons learnt so that Goa can start making preparations in right earnest for fielding a winning combination in the forthcoming 37th National Games to be held in Goa in October-November like it was done at the 3rd Lusofonia Games held in Goa. That’s the next immediate target for the senior boys. One is confident that Caetano Fernandes and his boys, and especially senior vice-president Anthony Pango, will now undertake a real, professional soul searching exercise and take adequate measures to rectify and uplift the gloomy scenario. A strong course correction is the need of the hour.
Goa had failed to qualify for the 2021-22 main event last year and it is sad that no serious academic exercise was undertaken then, which ought to have been the starting point, to pinpoint the cause for the non-qualification following a single narrow solitary goal defeat to lowly Gujarat after two splendid victories earlier. The defeat was surprisingly accepted at its moribund face value and everything was buried.
In the absence of a fact-finding mission then, no corrective, remedial measures could be taken to see that Goa would not repeat the bad show. At least now, the administrators, no doubt, can surely undertake a very serious exercise with the objective of pinpointing the possible cause of the failures with a view to arresting the decline which has now reached somewhat alarming proportions, especially when viewed against five successive defeats. It’s a tough task ahead, but there is hope that the necessary measures, starting with a brainstorming, will be undertaken immediately. For the past two or three years everything changed with the Covid pandemic triggering a roller coaster ride for all. It also did affect football. We are now at a turning point in Goan football. Consequently, the need for journeying toward a new path. There could be need for setting up new goals for improvement and prioritise plans of action. Caetano and his boys have the necessary armour.
Goa were expected to put up a tough, do-or-die resistance today so as to at least hold Maharashtra. Just one single point was the least what was needed, so that Goa could come back home with at least a single point and not languish at the bottom with zero points to their credit. They gave their best today, no doubt, but even that was not enough.
The Goa citadel fell early in the fifth minute with H Patil finding the net for Maharashtra. Goa exerted themselves putting up a brave fight, but goals were not forthcoming. And it was in the dying stages that Maharashtra rounded off the tally in the 89th minute again through Patil.
Goa had a chance to move ahead right from the kick off as Lloyd Cardoso moved into the box and found skipper Clencio Pinto just in front of the rival goal with a clever back-heel, but Clencio wasted the golden chance with just the goalkeeper to beat.
Goa had another chance in the 4th minute. Clencio sent a diagonal pass to Lloyd who smartly beat a rival defender but his carpet drive missed the target narrowly. Later, Goan goalkeeper Roanal Gaunkar came up with a good save, denying Shrikant Molangiri.
Goa had a chance to equalise but Klusner saw his header going over the crossbar. Later Delton Colaco’s shot sailed over.
Maharashtra continued to dominate after the break with goalkeeper Roanal effectively blocking Sumit. Later, Roanal effected a smart diving save off Sumit.
Goa, trailing by a goal, raised their tempo as minutes ticked by in search of the equaliser but it was Maharashtra who sealed their victory with H Patil rounding off the tally.
The two other matches, ended in draws. Kerala held Punjab 1-1 and Karnataka held Odisha 2-2. Punjab topped the group with 11 points and Karnataka emerged runners-up with 9. With today’s victory, their first, Maharashtra climbed to the 4th place displacing Odisha to 5th.
