PANJIM: Goa remained undefeated as they grounded Madhya Pradesh 3-1 to emerge top of West Zone in the 69th Santosh Trophy qualifying round match, at Municipal Corporation Stadium, Rajkot, Gujarat, on Monday.
Goa started strongly and opened their account in the 12th minute through Melvin Fernandes, who received a long ball from stopper Savio Fernandes and finished neatly from the edge of the box.
Madhya Pradesh upped their tempo and equalized in the 35th minute through Shubhark Mannewar, whose powerful effort to a slight deflection of defender Amar Harlankar and eluded custodian Fayaz Shaikh, 1-1.
Changing over, Goa mounted pressure and scored the second goal in the 48th minute as Melvin secured his brace after being assisted by Joshua Rebello.
Goa sealed victory, three minutes from time as Mario Mascarenhas found Nicolhas Fernandes in an ideal position for a splendid goal.
Goa’s hard rock defender Amar, who performed exceptionally well with his defence line was adjudged man-of-the-match.
