PANJIM: On the final day of the season, Sporting Clube de Goa face a young Sesa Football Academy in the GFA Super Cup final at Duler Stadium, Mapusa, on Monday, at 4 p.m.
Sporting Goa coach Oscar Bruzon is looking forward to his first final in charge of the Flaming Oranje. “The players have worked exceptionally hard and deserve to enjoy the occasion, but they know the job is not over and winning is all that counts,” stated the Spaniard.
In the semi-finals, Sporting Goa edged past Super League champions Salgaocar 2-1, while Sesa defeated Dempo 2-0.
“They have three or four good players who are ready to play in the I-League, so we cannot underestimate them, but I’m sure if my players are awake from the kick off, our experience will bring us through,” remarked Sporting Goa coach Oscar.
Sporting Goa will be without defenders Rojen Singh and Samananda Singh who are still nursing knee injuries, but captain Mathew Gonsalves is set to return after missing the semi-final clash due a minor hamstring strain.
At the start of the season Sporting Goa had signed Pratesh Shirodkar and Valerio Rodrigues from Sesa. Tough tackling Pratesh has been the dynamo in the midfield, while Valerio has recently come into some very good form. As his teammate, Juan Pena proclaimed recently after watching him score a free kick, “Valerio – technically he’s our best player.”
On the opening day of the season, Sesa surprised their opponents by winning 2-1 in the Goa Pro League. Just last month Sesa nearly created another shock by going three goals up against the Panjim outfit, before losing 3-4 to Sporting Goa who managed to pull off the comeback of the season by scoring four goals in the final twenty two minutes.
Whether the fans are wearing the blue of Sesa or the orange of Sporting Goa, all will be hoping for another thrilling afternoon of football as the curtain comes down on another season.
