Goa Professional League 2019-20: Round 6

Dempo SC leapfrogged Churchill Brothers to go top of the Goa Professional League table at the end of the sixth round.

Corps of Signals and Panjim Footballers register thrilling wins, while FC Goa pinches a point off Salgaocar in a last-gasp attempt.

Sporting Clube occupies the third spot with a convincing win.

Golden Eagles up the tempo to go top

Dempo SC beat Calangute Association to climb to the top of the Goa Professional League.

Pedro Gonsalves scored a brace but it was Beevan D’Mello who helped secure a comfortable 4-0 win for the Golden Eagles at the Duler Stadium.

Pedro opened the scoring in the 27th minute with a delightful chip over Sanij, the Calangute custodian. At the break, Beevan D’Mello was subbed in place of the Dempo veteran, Joaquim Abranches, who had picked up an injury.

The substitute winger troubled the Calangute defense with his pace. In the 65th minute, Beevan’s goalbound shot was saved by Sanij, however, Pedro pounced on the rebound to make it 2-0

Beevan put the match to bed in the 72nd minute with a header off a rebound. Alber topped off a good outing by bagging his goal in the 87th minute.

The win takes Golden Eagles to 15 points from six matches, while Calangute suffered their first loss of the campaign.

Churchill fire blanks against Sesa

Churchill Brothers were held to a goalless draw by newly-promoted side Sesa Football Academy at the Duler Stadium.

The Red Machines dominated the match from the start, a header by Mauvin Borges hit the post in the 2nd minute.

Sesa’s backline of Melvin Lobo, Myran Pereira, Biken and Caitano Viegas alongside goalkeeper Sapam kept the Churchill strikeforce at bay. Sesa skipper Melvin Lobo cleared a Glen Martin strike off the line while Sapam denied Mauvin from close range.

The draw has left Churchill Brother in second place with 13 points from five matches. Sesa is placed at seventh with seven points from six games.

Sporting Goa clips Guardian Angel wings

Two second-half goals from Altone Vaz and Marcus Mascarenhas helped Sporting Goa secure a 2-0 win over Guardian Angel SC.

The Flaming Orange occupies the third spot in the table with 11 points from five matches. On the other hand, Guardian Angel suffered their first loss of the campaign.

FC Goa snatch a point at the death

Sweden Fernandes scored in injury time to snatch a point for FC Goa against Salgaocar at the Nagao Stadium.

Salgaocar were off to a dream start with Devendra Murgaonkar tapping in the opener in the very first minute.

FC Goa goalie, Dylan Da Silva, had to come up with a couple of crucial saves to keep his team in the hunt. Coach Derrick Perreira threw in more experienced players in Liston and Kingslee in hope of a turnaround.

In the end, it was his final substitution that proved to be the right call. Having replaced Kapil in the 75th minute, Fernandes volleyed in the equalizer late in injury time to secure a point for the development team of FC Goa.

Comeback wins for Signals and Panjim

Round six of the Goa Pro League featured two comeback wins that ended in a 3-2 scoreline.

The Corps of Signals-Vasco match was a see-saw affair. Nim Bhutia put the Armymen ahead in the 34th minute.

Two goals in two minutes from Suraj Mondal (52’ & 54’) enabled Vasco to seize the initiative and give Vasco a 2-1 lead.

Substitute Vishnu Chhetri was the unlikely hero for the Signals team. He converted a penalty in the 76th minute to level the score. Three minutes later, Chhetri latched on a through ball from another substitute, Pawan Thakur, to score the winner and chalk up the first win of the campaign for his team.

The following day, the Duler Stadium witnessed another incredible comeback from Panjim Footballers.

Joywin Carneiro (20′) and Romario Da Costa (41′) scored to give Velsao SCC a 2-0 lead at half time.

Panjim Footballers scored two goal in two minutes to level the scoring. Alston Camotio (58′) and Llyod Cardozo (60′) were the goalscorers for the Capital side.

In the 77th minute, Velsao SCC keeper Presley Mascarenhas brought down Chandan Gawas in the box and the referee pointed to the spot.

Akash Sanadi stepped up to score the match-winner and earn three points for his team. Velsao has now lost six matches in a row.