An evenly contested battle between Goa and Karnataka of quarter final league match of the 63rd National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy ended in a draw at the Nehru Stadium, Chennai, on Wednseday.
It was Karnataka that started the match on an aggressive note and in the 4th minute Ricky Joy’s shot was off target. But it was Goa that took the control of the game after this and got their acts together.
In the 17th minute Goa had a chance to take the lead but Jaquim Abranches wasted the opportunity from an indirect free kick from inside the box as his shot was off target.
As the match progressed Goa settled down and in the 40th minute Goa had the best chance of the match but Francis Fernandes shot at the goal was intercepted by BV Pradeep and Marcus Mascarenhas tried hard to get the ball past Pradeep but his shot was off target. And as a result the match entered into the lemon break with a goal being scored.
The second half had Goa starting on an attacking note but failing to capitalize initially. But within ten minutes Karnataka made two good moves in a span of three minutes but were not lucky enough to find the back of the net.
In the 54th minute J Sathish cross from right flank was headed well by Xavier Vijay Kumar but his header was off target and three minutes later Sanath Kumar had Goa custodian Felix D’Souza to beat but the strikers shot was very weak to pose any threat for Goan outfit.
In the 59th minute Karnataka got another chance as Sathish was left unmarked and his shot from outside the box had Felix D Souza making a diving save. With three shots taken at their goal in a span of five minutes Goa were taken aback and they got their acts together.
Karnataka relied more on their flanks but their strikers failed to convert the chances that came their way. In the 78th minute Rowilson Rodrigues chipped the ball from 20 yards that had Karnataka custodian Gumpe Rime jumping and punching the ball over the bar.
Seven minutes later Wilton Gomes cross from right was well placed inside the box but there were no Goa striker to convert it. In the 87th minute Goa got a free kick from just outside the box but Nicholas Rodrigues wasted the opportunity as his shot was off target and as a result the match ended in a goalless draw and both the teams shared a point each.
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Wednesday 3 June 2009, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.