Goa’s debut in the national football championship for the Santosh Trophy in 1964 was a memorable one against Andhra Pradesh, who eventually made it to the final. Goa made a very impressive against the star studded Andhra Pradesh and instantly came to be recognized as one of the best football playing states in country.
When the match ended, there was silence all around
The strong crowd at the Corporation ground in Madras,now Chennai, were watching in attention all through the game, but when the final whistle was blown, “a hush fell over the ground.”
“The crowd forgot to applaud this fine effort in its mood of commiseration for the stout-hearted Goans,” states a newspaper report, preserved carefully by Goa goalkeeper Benzinho Fernandes.