Salgaocar FC crowned ‘Champions of Goa’
Needing just a point from their pending fixtures, Salgaocar FC clinched the Goa Pro League 2014-15 in style as they scored a thumping 8-0 win over Santa Cruz Club of Cavelossim. The winners led 3-0 at the breather. With this triumph, the Greens annexed their 21st title overall and their second in 3 years.
The first of the Goa Pro League games to be played at the picturesque SAG Ground, Benaulim, the Greens made their intentions clear from the outset with a brisk start to the game. Ivorian Douhou Pierre opened the scoring as early as the 3rd minute when a cross from left back Brian Mascarenhas slipped out of the keepers grasp for Salgaocar’s number 10 to bury home. A couple of minutes later it was 2-0, when teenager Myron Borges made a good run down the left flank and crossed beyond the keeper to the other of Salgaocar’s U-20 players, Jason Barbosa to nod home. By the 10th minute it could have well been 4, as both Douhou Pierre and Scottish striker Darryl Duffy missed with only the keeper at their mercy. Duffy however compensated for the earlier lapse by getting his name on the score sheet a minute later, tucking away a Saran Singh cross from the right in the 11th minute.
Thereafter it was all Salgaocar for the rest of the half as they created chance after chance but were wasteful in their finishing. After changing ends, the Greens seemed intent to inflict further misery on Cavelossim as they kept up the tempo and never stopped attacking. Striker Dawson Fernandes came in for Myron Borges and Indian U-23 International Clifton Dias came in for the hardworking Saran Singh. As Cavelossim looked to attack to salvage some pride, they were left exposed at the back. Douhou, Jairu and Dawson combined well with measured through balls and Rosario kept making darting runs on the right flank. Myron set up Jason for his second in the 56th minute before Dawson took centre stage with a superb hat-trick inside the next 25 minutes, all 3 goals courtesy sublime through balls from Douhou Pierre.
Bikash Jairu hit the final nail in the Cavelossim coffin with a scorcher from 25 yards out. It has been a fantastic month of November for Derrick and his boys as they annexed the first ever Durand Cup to be played on Goan soil earlier in the month.
Being unbeaten in 15 games and having 2 trophies in the bag already, Salgaocar FC will have their sights firmly set on the 2 big ones, the Federation Cup and the I-League.