Punjab inflict fourth straight defeat on Goa in Santosh Trophy [Watch Highlights]

Ravish Narvekar

Punjab climbed to the top of Group A with 10 points from four matches, while second-placed Karnataka have eight points from the same number of matches.

Goa continued their miserable run in the final round of the 76th Senior National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy 2022-23 as Punjab handed over them fourth straight defeat with a fluent 3-1 win at 7th Battalion Ground, Odisha. Nickson Castanha's own goal put Punjab ahead in the 20th minute, while brace from substitute Rohit Sheikh (74' & 80') was enough for the Northern side to grab full points. Clencio Pinto scored the consolation goal for Goa in the 88th minute.

It was a midfield affair from the start of the match where both sides tried to keep the ball at their feet. Goa were seen with some good one-touch passing in the opponent's half, while the Northern side were completely dependent on the counterattacks. As the match progressed, the Western Coastal side tried to dominate the rival with few more attacks. However, Goan defender Nickson Castanha put goa on the trail in the 20th minute as he headed in his own goal off Punjab's Bhupinder Singh's cross from the deep right flank.

The goal brought some energy into Punjab players as they came with back-to-back attacks on Goa but Goan defenders kept every danger at the bay. In one of them, Jang Bahadur Singh made a brilliant through pass to Kamaldeep but Goan left-back Klusner Pereira made a timely interception to keep his side away from further damage.

The rest of the session saw an equal fight from both sides where Goa were trying to find the equalizer and Punjab were looking forward to extending their lead but neither side managed to succeed to breach each other's last line as Nickson's own goal gave a slender lead to the Northern side at halftime.

Punjab made an attacking start to the second session as they made back-to-back raids on Goa within the first six minutes. Bhupinder tried to find his teammate Gaurab near the rival frame but the Goan keeper Roanal Gaunkar came off his line to collect it on time. Punjab squandered another goal-scoring opportunity in the 51st minute as this time Bhupinder once again came with a fine cross in the box where Goan keeper Roanal once again left his line and punched it. The ball reached Punjab midfielder Jang Bahadur who nicely chested it down but failed to shoot with a rival keeper down on the pitch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQiprPZdnPg

[HIGHLIGHTS]Goa vs Punjab in the final round of the Santosh Trophy 2022-23

Goa also came close to scoring in the 64th minute when their forward Mahammed Faheez swiftly moved from the halfway line and set up just-in Lloyd Cardozo in the box with a through pass but rival keeper Harpreet Singh quickly grab the ball before the Goan forward could do any damage.

On the counterattack, Punjab's Gaurab made a head pass to Jang Bahadur in the box from their goalkeeper's long clearance but the lad shot over the crossbar from inside the box. After wasting many opportunities, Punjab finally managed to extend their lead in the 74th minute as Bhupinder sent another beautiful cross in the box to Bipul Kala who tapped it to fresh-legged Rohit. Punjab's Rohit added another to their tally in the 80th minute as this time his powerful long ranger from outside the box did not even give chance to Goan keeper Roanal to react as a fierce strike from distance entered the top right corner making it 3-0.

Lloyd had a chance to reduce the margin for Goa when he was set up with just a rival keeper to beat by their skipper Clencio but the substitute forward could not beat Punjab keeper Harpreet from close. However, skipper Clencio managed to pull one back in the 88th minute. Substitute Harsh Patre made a long pass to Lloyd who darted in the box and made a through pass to Clencio who made a clinical finish from an acute angle to make it 3-1.

Punjab's Rohit had a couple of chances to complete his hat-trick in the added minutes of the match but first, his weak shot from inside the box was brilliantly blocked by Goan defender Shallum Pires with rival keeper Roanal completely out of position. A minute later, he was in a commanding position to net the fourth of his side and his third of the match but his goal-bound strike was brilliantly blocked by onrushing Goan keeper Roanal who was the lone rival at his stake inside the box.

Photos & Highlights: AIFF Media