Vasco blank Panjim Footballers in Goa Pro League’s cross-town derby

Aman Govekar and Hussain Pinjar scored the goals for the Port Towners.

Vasco Sports Club registered their second victory as they defeated Panjim Footballers by a 2-0 margin in a Goa Professional League match played at Duler Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

U-20 striker Aman Govekar opened the tally in the early minutes, while another U-20 midfielder Hussain Pinjar scored in the second session to earn all three points for the Port Towners.

Both the teams had one change to their side as U-20 midfielder Hussain Pinjar was back in Vasco’s lineup after missing out in the last match draw against Velsao SCC, while Leasser Raikar was the new face for Panjim side who also had drawn their last match against Guardian Angel SC.

Vasco who had not scored in the last four matches, took just 31 seconds from the kickoff to surge ahead as Panjim keeper Sherwin Da Cunha failed to collect Shubham Malwankar’s curling cross. Taking advantage of the loose ball, Vasco U-20 striker Aman Govekar slotted the ball home from close to make it 1-0 for the Port Towners.

Vasco continued to play attacking and created another great chance in the 13th minutes when Inacio Colaco tried his luck from distance but his strike hit the crossbar before going out for a goal-kick.

At the other end, Panjim tried to build with some attacks but most of their raids ended before entering the box, while few were wasted with aimless shots.

Vasco once again came close to inflate their lead in the 30th minute when Moises D’Sa found Hussain with a long ball, who flicked it to Schubert Pereira in the box but the striker’s extra touch helped Panjim defenders to clear the danger on time.

Panjim came out all attacking in the second half and made two quick attacks on the opponents but both the attempts were pushed for a corner by Vasco last line led by skipper Lenstan Afonso and Myran Pereira along with wing back Malwankar and Minesh.

Vasco inflated their lead in the 52nd minute when a pin-point cross from Rugved Yeole was brilliantly headed in by Hussain to make it 2-0 for his side.

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Panjim also had a chance to reduce their margin when they were awarded a freekick just outside the box but Vasco custodian Sanju Thapa made a neat save to deny Vallmiky Miranda’s powerful strike.

Another opportunity went into vain for the Capital City side in the 64th minutes when Snedden Rodrigues took advantage of the missed pass from Lenstan and entered the box but his strike was acrobatically pushed for a corner by Vasco shot-stopper Thapa.

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Vasco once again came close to further extend their lead in the 76th minute when Moises found substitute Anil Gaonkar with a fine cross but the winger’s tap missed the target by hairline distance. A few minutes later they had another opportunity as Anil made a superb run on the wing and curled the ball but Panjim defender Joyson D’Souza cleared the ball for a corner.

Panjim tried hard to get back into the match with few counters but once again Vasco defence proved their calibre with brilliant defence.