MAPUSA: Sesa Football Academy managed to hold Velsao Sports and Cultural Club to a 1-1 draw in the Goa Professional league, at Duler stadium, here, on Friday.
Velsao marched into their dressing room from Klusner Pereira’s 32nd minute goal. But a self goal by Viraj Naik (57″) cancelled their lead.
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Both the teams having lost their first league match played cautiously in the first twenty minutes of the match with the keeper’s being hardly tested.
Velsao keeper Presley Mascarenhas came with back-to-back saves in the 20th minute by first thwarting U-20 Shridar Naidu just outside the 6-yard box and the ball travelled to Cajetan Fernandes whose cross was superbly fisted to safety by the keeper.
At the other end, the first attempt at the rival Sesa goal saw the keeper turn to be a poor cropper. A 30-yard free-kick by Klusner Pereira saw the ball crash past the outstretched hands of keeper Sapam Nongpoknganba Singh to give his side the lead.
Velsao should have doubled their lead a minute before the breather but Jesloy Moniz who had made his debut saw his placement miss the target narrowly after Ronil Azavedo had done the spadework.
On crossing ends, the Academy lads came up with renewed ideas and exerted pressure on the rival citadel.
Dominic Soares two strikes at the goal first travelled into the keeper’s gloves and minutes later his shot skywards.
An unbelievable equaliser came to the rescue of Sesa FA in the 57th minute where a cross by Vishnu Gosavi saw Velsao’s Viraj Naik who had just come from the bench head the ball into his own goal.
Play was then once again restricted to midfield. Only at the end of the match Cajetan failed to keep his strike from inside the Velsao’s penalty box on target and the teams returned home content having fetched their first point of the league.
