Team Herald
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PANJIM: Sesa Football Academy (SFA) registered a stunning comeback to win 2-1 against Corps of Signals in the Goa Professional League, at 3MTR ground Navelim on Wednesday.
Sesa FA now have 11 points from 8 games.
The game started on an energetic note after Shajam P started for SFA on the left-wing and caused trouble to the Signals defence.
In the sixth minute, Shajam delivered a cross into the box which was cleared by the defense but Dominic quickly collected and shot from distance. Signals keeper collected the ball safely.
In the 12th minute, Ben won the ball in the center of the pitch to run through opposition defenders and delivered a through pass towards Olvin who shot the ball straight at the keeper.
In the 19th minute, Olvin put pressure on the opposition defence and the ball ricochet between defenders towards their own goal.
The ball reached no man’s land but Signals keeper was quick to clear it with a sliding tackle from outside his penalty area.
Nim Ishering Bhutia caused trouble in the first half for SFA on the right-wing as in the 21st minute, he cut inside to go past the defender and attempted a shot on goal. The winger was denied a goal by the goalpost and his rebound attempt went wide.
The COS winger struck in the 25th minute after a pinpoint corner from number 7 Solomon was put in the back of the net.
The ball was headed straight past the keeper from close range who had no chance to save it.
SFA decided to change things upfront as Ben was replaced by Kunal Salgaonkar in the 34th minute. In the 38th minute, SFA leveled the scoreline through Shajam struck from a neat cross delivered by Olvin Cardozo. The ball went straight into the top left corner as SFA geared up. Olvin gelled up well with Caitano on the right-wing after a lovely one-two with him allowed SFA striker with a golden opportunity inside the box. Olvin’s shot was blocked by Signals goalkeeper and the referee decided to blow the whistle for half time.
Manto was substituted on for Signals in the second half and made a quick impression after his shot from range struck the top post but no player to finish on the rebound as SFA cleared the ball in the 48th minute.
In the 53rd minute, Kunal Salgaonkar made a run on the left-wing and crossed it to Richard Cardoz inside the box.
Richard managed to keep the ball in on the far post with a one-touch pass to Olvin in the 5-yard box who couldn’t get his shot through as two defenders surrounded him.
In the 67th minute, Caitano made a lob pass from SFA half towards Olvin who was making a run and was onside. Both Signals center-backs failed to deal with the lob through-pass and Olvin took the opportunity to dribble past the keeper to take the lead.
In the 73rd minute, injured Shajam was replaced by Stephen Colaco on the left-wing for SFA. In the 77th minute, Richard fired a cross into the box towards Caitano who hit the post.
SFA made another substitution in the 81st minute as SFA right-winger Richard Cardoz was replaced by Omkar.
Signals number 17 Pawan was replaced by Shuklab as they pushed men forward in the dying minutes of the game.
However, SFA kept possession of the ball in the final quarter of the game and sealed all three points.
“Signals played very good football. Their defence was quite strong but I am happy with my boys and their attitude towards the game. Despite being a goal down, they continued with what they are best known for –attack and we managed to score two goals and more importantly the three points,” said Sesa FA coach Charles Dias.
