Blog

I-League: Sporting Clube de Goa rally to beat Salgaocar 3-1

Nine-man Salgaocar succumbed to repeated attacks from Sporting Clube de Goa and went down 1-3 in a rescheduled 12th round I-League football clash at the Duler Stadium in Mapusa on Wednesday.

Salgaocar led 1-0 at the breather but had two of their players sent off in the second session, including goalkeeper Karanjit Singh.

Augustine Fernandes gave Salgaocar the lead while Spanish striker Juan Pena (penalty) restored parity for Sporting at the hour mark.

Substitute striker Victorino Fernandes scored the second for Sporting in the 90th minute and Ogba Kalu made it 3-1 in added time.

Salgaocar were the better team in the first session and took the battle to the opposition.

Nigerian striker O.J. Obatola and Brazilian striker Josimar Martins combined well upfront but all the hard work was undone by poor finishing.

After some near misses, Salgaocar surged ahead in the 38th minute after the Sporting Clube defence momentarily went to sleep.

With a player injured in their own half, Sporting urged their own player to push the ball out of play but that request went unheard.

Instead, Sporting defender Jovel Martins lost the ball and it paved the way for Augustine Fernandes to bulge the net.

Almost immediately, Salgaocar had a chance to take a 2-0 lead but Francis Fernandes, picked beautifully by Rocus Lamare, targeted the side netting.

Even in the second session, Salgaocar should have scored another goal. This time the culprit was Obatola who, despite having only the goalkeeper to beat, shot horribly wide.

Salgaocar eventually paid for their follies as Sporting struck back.

Substitute Victorino Fernandes won a penalty after he was brought down by goalkeeper Karanjit Singh, who was sent off with a straight red card.

Spanish striker Juan Pena converted the spot kick to make it 1-1 in the 61st minute.

In the 68th minute, there was more drama as Salgaocar’s Josimar and Sporting’s Joyner Lourenco were both sent off for an off-the-ball incident.

Sporting made the best use of their numerical advantage as substitute Victorino Fernandes finally scored the match winner from a goalmouth melee in the final minute of play.

Ogba Kalu then scored another goal in added time to help his team complete a 3-1 victory.