Sport - Football

Goa enters final

By Our Sports Reporter

Mandya May 2. Goa reserved its best for the bigger stage. A recent slump became a blur as

Goa defeated Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) 4-2 in the M. Dutta Ray under-21 National football championship semifinal at the M. Visweswaraiah Stadium here on Thursday.

A Wilfred Gomes brace guided the Goans into their third consecutive final while J&K fought hard with Mehraj-Din-Wadoos twin strikes. The match's aggressive tempo lent adrenaline to a tournament often saddled with a dreary air. In Saturday's final, Goa clashes with defending champion West Bengal. It will be a repeat act as Goa pitted its wits against Bengal in the last edition's summit clash at Duliajan. Goa, then lost 1-3.

The prelude to Goa's semifinal entry was hardly inspiring. Inept rivals rather than good form helped Goa top Group II. But in the semifinal, Goa was pitted against dark horse - J&K. Goa survived the face-off and hinted that its avowed skills were real and not a mere mask. The Goan defence cramped key J&K striker Ishfaq Ahmed while right wing-back Ryan D'Souza and medios Nascimento Silveria and Joseph Pereira often ran upfront, creating enough gaps for strikers Wilfred Gomes and captain Alex Ambrose.

Goa's cohesion proved to be a fine mesh that discarded J&K's comeback dreams. Goa's aggressive intent rang out in the 22nd minute as Joseph Pereira's brisk cross tempted a Nascimento side-volley. And as the ball sailed parallel to the goalline, Wilfred Gomes tapped in his first strike. J&K's early hint at battle drew in a 35th minute equaliser as Mehraj-Din-Wadoo headed in a Bilal Ahmed corner.

However Goa had enough reserves to derail J&K. Joseph Pereira latched onto a crisp through pass from Ryan D'Souza three minutes before the break. Joseph's 25-yard run nursed the ball past defender Tajmul Hussain and custodian Bikramjeet Singh. The party continued into the second half with Ryan D'Souza (53rd min.) clipping in an Alex Ambrose diagonal. The J&K riposte hinged on Ishfaq and Adil Qadir's aggression that pocketed three successive corners. The Goan's held firm until a foul against Ishfaq gifted a freekick. Mehraj-Din-Wadoo (69th min.) converted with his 20-yard stinger rifling past the wall and goal-keeper Milagrio Medeira. The war paint was still wet as J&K pressed hard for a level footing. But with Sheik Rizwan and Ajay Kumar failing to connect headers, the J&K coach Satpal Singh could only mutter, hard luck.

Goa drove in the final nail with Sandeep Colaco (substituting for Micky Fernandez) selling a dummy. His 79th minute corner was deflected but he latched onto the rebound, dodged past a wing-back, feinted a back pass and essayed a diagonal that helped Wilfred Gomes score in the 80th minute.

"Our defence should be tight but I am happy to win against a tough team (J&K),'' said a beaming Goan coach Peter Vales.

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