Kolkata: FC Goa secured a well fought 2-0 win over Army Green to begin their Durand Cup campaign at the Vivekananda Yuvabharati Krirangan on Tuesday September, 7. Alberto Noguera and Devendra Murgaonkar featured in the score sheet for the Gaurs.
Army Green had a chance of getting on the score sheet as early as 15 minutes from the kick-off when a cross from Vikas Zanje almost went past Goa custodian Naveen Kumar , but to utter dismay it hit the woodwork.
On the other hand Juan Ferrando’s side had better finishing and were rewarded at the 35th minute when Makan Winkle Chote assisted Noguera in finding the net giving Goa the lead.
In about 19 minutes from the second half, Devendra extended the lead , after Romario Jesuraj provided him with a sublime delivery.
Very contrary to the scoreline, Army Green had more chances but lack of finishing costed them from getting on the score sheet. The best was when Lallawmkima , tested Naveen who had to go out of his way to save his clean sheet.
Even with two goals conceded Army custodian Sarath Narayan had produced a string of brilliant saves to keep his team in the game and was awarded with the title of the Man of the Match.
Speaking after the game, the Army Green goalkeeper said, “Our opponents FC Goa were the better side, tactically and technically. They have better facilities than us. “
“Our boys still gave a good fight, which is a big achievement in itself. We will try to improve on this result and win the other two games that we have.”
