AGENCIES, SOLAPUR: Goa were held to a frustrating goalless draw by Daman and Diu in the opening match of the Santosh Trophy West Zone Qualifiers, played at Indira Gandhi Stadium in Solapur on Thursday.
The result was least expected by the Goa coach Samir Naik, who earlier won the title as the player for Goa.
“We played a very good game against Daman &Diu and our players gave their 100 per cent. But we simply couldn’t get the final act right,” stated Samir Naik following his side’s unlikely result.
“I don’t want to give this as an excuse but the ground was really in bad condition and it made it difficult for us in the first session. Our players took time to adjust to this conditions,” added Samir.
Goa fielded a young side with Jessel Carneiro leading the team having Kapil Hoble and Stendly Fernandes upfront. The youngsters had their moment of magic but none could keep their composure infront of the goal.
Goa had numerous opportunities to break the deadlock, but poor finishing and brilliant guarding of the post from Daman custodian Nihal denied the opposition.
Goan skipper Jessel Carneiro made a perfect long cross to Kapil Hoble in the box, but the winger saw his shot blocked by the Daman keeper, whereas, the loose ball was shot wide by Lalawmpuia from inside the box.
Kapil twice came close to scoring but only saw his effort saved by the rival keeper. Jessel too was denied twice by the brilliant goalkeeping late in the game. Goa coach was pleased with the performance of Serinio, Clement, Kapil and Lalwmpuiau.
Carneiro came up with another cross from the left, but this time Stendly failed to connect with his header from close range. The former champions had the best chance in added-time of the first half, when Carneiro again curled the ball to Lalawmpuia in the box, but the forward failed to control the ball with just the rival keeper to beat.
Carneiro had two chances in the last quarter of the match, as first he was setup in the box by Kapil, but the Daman custodian was at his best as he brilliantly blocked the Goan skipper’s powerful strike. Five minutes later, substitute Joaquim made a superb through pass to Carneiro, but like the last time, Daman keeper Nihal produced a breathtaking save to keep his side safe against the mighty Goans.
