Goa Pro League: Calangute Association down Guardian Angel in thriller

Krishnanath Shirodkar scored in the injury-time to seal the points for his team.

Krishnanath Shirodkar scored in injury-time to help Calangute Association beat Guardian Angel Sports Club 3-2 in the Goa Pro League match played at Duler Stadium on Saturday.

Calangute took the lead in just the third minute through Siddhant Shirodkar, while the forward completed his brace and doubled the the advantage immediately after the restart. Angels refused to give up as Basanta Singh reduced the margin in the 54th minute. Meanwhile, Gilbert Oliveira found the equaliser for the Curchorem side in the 81st minute.

Both teams came into the match with a defeat. Angels made two changes. Midfielder Tyson Carvalho and keeper Ram Sroop made the first start of the season for the Curchorem side. Whereas, forward Siddhant Shirodkar and midfielder Jirjar Terang were brought back into the Calangute starting XI by their coach Valentine Ezeugo.

Calangute made a great start as they managed to take the lead in just the third minute. Angels keeper Ram spilled the ball after collecting a powerful shot from Sidharth Kundaikar. An unmarked Siddhant tapped the ball home to put his side into a 1-0 lead in the early minutes.

Angels took another 15 minutes to reply with a swift attack. Gilbert setup Yunal Fernandes in the box with a long pass, but the midfielder could not put power in his strike as Calangute keeper Paramveer Singh made an easy collection.

Angels keeper Ram was tested again in the 24th minute. Chaitan Dabholkar made a darting run and fired a shot from close range, but he brilliantly blocked him at the cost of a corner. He once again came up with an excellent block as this time he denied Sidharth from the short corner.

Two minutes later, Denvil went for glory from inside the box, but he failed to keep the ball on target. However, his teammate Beneston Barretto saw his shot miss by hairline distance.

Calangute also had a chance to double their lead when Nickson found Kouame Kossonou with a long free-kick. The Ivorian forward headed it to well-positioned Siddhant in the box, but his shot missed the target narrowly.

Angels should have equalized in the added minutes of the first half. Beneston was setup by a pinpoint through pass from substitute Arif Pathan, but Calangute keeper Paramveer came off his line to deny the forward.

On the other hand, the Beachside doubled their lead within 35 seconds of the restart. Ivorian forward Kouame initiated the move with a fine pass to Chaitan Dabholkar and the winger sent a low cross to Siddhant in the box. The lad made no mistake to send the ball in the net from inside the box, making it 2-0 for Calangute.

Angels finally managed to reduce the margin in the 54th minute. Leny Fernandes’ long pass was brilliantly collected by Beneston. He easily cut past a defender with his first touch, but could not beat Calangute keeper Paramveer. However, the loose ball was put into in the back of the net by unmarked Basanta Singh from outside the box.

Energized by a goal, Angels made continuous raids on the rivals and found the equalizer in the 81st minute. Basanta failed to connect a fine cross from Joel Baretto. Beneston went for glory from the loose ball, but Calangute keeper denied him with a brilliant block. The ball rolled to onrushing Gilbert Oliveira, whose scorching shot from the top of the box gave no chance to Calangute custodian and entered the top corner making it all square.

Calangute came close to taking the lead once again in the 84th minute. Sidharth found Krishnanath in the box from a corner, but the Calangute defender saw his goalbound header pushed for another corner by Angels keeper Ram.

When it was looking like both sides will share the spoils in the high scoring draw, the Beachside were awarded a free-kick just outside the box. Nickson directly went for glory from the set-piece but it was denied by the woodwork. The ball came to Krishnanath in the box who tried his luck with a header, which beat every opponent to settle in the net, making the difference between the two teams.

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