Margao, Apr 29: Salgaocar cruised to victory over Chirag United Kerala with the first half strike by Luciano Sobrosa in the penultimate round of I-League football tie played at Nehru Stadium here.
Salgaocar, who will take on Shillong Lajong in their last match, now has 43 points from 25 matches, while Chirag United, who are relegated to the second division of the I-League, could earn only 17.
Salgaocar, who dictated terms in the midfield, had the better share of exchanges and scoring opportunities and surged ahead in the 30th minute after finding the net twice but was ruled out offside by referee Andrew Shekar.
‘Man of the match' Ryuji sueoka, who played the pivotal role upfront, accepted the ball inside the box, beat a couple of rival defenders and laid a pass to unmarked Luciano Sobrosa who slotted the ball into the net from close.
Thereafter, the play was confined to midfield and the visitors came close to scoring on a couple of occasions but ended up shooting the ball wide off the mark.
Salgaocar continued to hold upper hand in the second half as well and had a glorious chance to increase the lead midway in the second half but Beevan D'Mello and Ryuji Sueoka in a one-on-one situation saw the former shooting the ball missing the target.
Later, Milagres Gonsalves saw his shot hit the post and going out.
The visitors, who came with a couple of threatening raids, had the best chance to find the equaliser in the dying minutes but Sunday who was unmarked inside the box missed the target by a whisker.
