Goa kick off Santosh campaign today

MAPUSA, JULY 28
Goa coach Mariano Dias is confident his players will give 100 percent when they kick of their campaign against Karnataka in their opening quarter-final group stage encounter on Thursday, as they look to retain the much coveted Santosh Trophy crown.
The kick off time is scheduled for 3.30 p.m. and will be played on the astro-turf surface at Salt Lake stadium, Kolkata.
Karnataka are already warmed up in this tournament having defeated Meghalaya 1-0 and Jharkhand 6-1 at the group stage. At the pre-quarter final stage they managed to nervously scrape past Maharashtra, scoring a solitary goal in extra time.
The Goa team arrived on Tuesday afternoon by flight from Dabolim sponsored by Kingfisher and were happy with the arrangements and accommodation.
The team was put through their paces by the coach on Wednesday morning during a light training session. “ there is a good team spirit in the camp and the players are relaxed,” stated Mariano.”
Although the team is without its prominent strikers and may have to start with a midfielder in a centre forward position, Mariano does not feel it is necessary to divert from the 4-4-2 formation he is accustomed  to. ” My players are very talented and versatile and will adapt to any given situation,” remarked Mariano.
Our Margao Correspondent adds: Skipper Felix D’Souza will be tending the goal, while  Rowilson Rodrigues, John Dias, Denzil Franco and Fulgencio Cardozo  will form  the   back four. Godwin Franco will spearhead  the midfield along with Adil Khan, Joseph Pereira  and Nicolau Borges. The goal  scoring  responsibilities will rest on Peter  Carvalho, Cavin Lobo or Branco Cardozo.
Thursday’s matches: Goa v. Karnataka; Services v. Punjab.