Army Green and FC Goa players vie for the ball during Durand Cup group match in Kolkata on Tuesday.
FC Goa survived some anxious moments before prevailing 2-0 against regimental side Army Green at the VBYK Stadium (formerly Salt Lake Stadium) in a Durand Cup match here on Tuesday.
Goals from Alberto Noguera Ripoll (35’) and Devendra Dhaku Murgaokar (59’) sealed the deal for the Gaurs on a rainy afternoon even as Army Green squandered many opportunities.
The team in white and green almost caused a huge upset in the 15th minute, when a cross from Vikas Zanje took a wicked deflection and almost caught Goa keeper Naveen Kumar off-guard. Luckily for him, the woodwork saved him the blushes. Juan Ferrando’s side on the other hand was far more clinical when opportunities presented themselves.
In the 35th minute, a beautiful through-ball from Goa’s Makan Winkle Chote put Alberto Noguera through on goal. When it came to beating the onrushing Army keeper, the Spaniard slotted home without much fuss.
In the 59th minute, Devendra made it 2-0 for the Gaurs after Romario Jesuraj had found him inside the box with a great delivery.
Ten minutes later, forward Lallawmkima had the best chance of the game when the ball landed at his feet following a comedy of errors inside the Goa box. He had all the time in the world to settle himself, which he did and when it was time for him to take the shot, he tried to be too cheeky by taking an extra touch and going around the keeper.
However, Naveen Kumar preserved his clean-sheet by making a fine save. Kima in fact, had a couple of chances in the game from where he could have scored but could not.
