Bardez FC silence Calangute Association in Goa Pro League

Youngster Richard Cardoz scored a brace in the derby.

Bardez FC registered an easy 3-1 win over Calangute Association in the Bardez Derby of the Goa Professional League played at Duler Stadium on Thursday afternoon.

Calangute coach Agostinho Dias chose to field the same XI except for goalkeeper Savio Paes, who missed out in the last match win against Corps of Signals. On the other hand, Bardez who had lost to FC Goa in the last match also had one change to their side, as their coach Savio D’Souza included Sonam Bhutia in the squad.

After midfield play in the first quarter, it was Bardez who came close to scoring first when Ong Lepcha, instead of going for glory from inside the box, passed it to Aniket Agarwadekar. However, the U-20 midfielder failed to put power in his strike as Calangute keeper Savio easily collected it.

However, Bardez managed to break the deadlock in the 20th minute, when a fine cross from Richard Cardoz was met by Carl D’Souza, but it rebounded off the post. The ball rolled to unmarked Bardez skipper Cho Lepcha, whose shot from close range finished in the net making it 1-0 for his side.

They had an opportunity to double the lead just after the half hour mark, when Richard came up with another pinpoint cross, but like the last time U-20 midfielder Aniket failed to convert an easy chance.

However, Bardez doubled their lead in the 43rd minute, when Ong made a brilliant through pass to Richard who covered some ground and stylishly finished the ball in the back of the net. making it 2-0 at half-time.    

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Bardez had a great opportunity to further inflate their lead just after changing over, when Rungsing Muinao found Sanjay Vegurlekar in the box with a fine cross, but the striker failed to keep his header on target.

At the other end, Calangute managed to reduce the margin, when a well-taken free-kick was brilliantly headed in by skipper Nicolau Colaco to make it 2-1 for the Beachside.

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However, Bardez took just seven more minutes to restore their two-goal lead, when Cho's shot was blocked by Calangute keeper Savio, but Richard’s strike from the rebound was unstoppable for the custodian.

Richard had an opportunity to complete his hat-trick in the 71st minute, when Cho sent a long ball to him, but Calangute keeper Savio came off the line to block the speedy winger in a one-on-one situation.