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Two first half strikes from Douhou Pierre and Darryl Duffy and a second half strike from Bryan Mascarenhas ensured back to back victories for Salgaocar FC. Dudu Omagbemi pulled one back for East Bengal in the later stages of the second half, but that did not prevent Salgaocar from grabbing full points from this crucial home fixture.
East Bengal came to Goa high on confidence after their back to back home wins against Bengaluru FC and Shillong Lajong. Armando Colaco made two changes to his starting lineup. Raju Gaikwad replaced injured Arnab Mondal and Joachim Abranches replaced Leo Bertos. Much to Derrick Pereira’s delight, Darryl Duffy came back to Salgaocar’s starting XI after almost a month.
Salgaocar took their chances very well
Both the teams started the match on a positive note. The game was equally balanced between the two sides in the first half. Both the teams created half chances which were easily cleared by the opposition defenders and goalkeepers.
Dudu Omagbemi missed a sitter in the 19th minute of the game when he failed to convert a header from Abinash Ruidas’ cross from just eight yards out of goal. It could have easily been the opening goal for the visiting side from Kolkata.
Around the closing moments of the first half, Douhou Pierre and Darryl Duffy played a brilliant one-two inside the penalty box bamboozling the East Bengal defenders. Douhou finally tapped in the opening goal. Deepak Mondal was surely at fault as he didn’t keep a check on Douhou inside the six yards box.
Just four minutes later, Darryl Duffy got a ball from Gilbert Oliveira’s cross from the left flank. He shielded the ball from Milan Susak, turned brilliantly and scored the second goal. Yet again the East Bengal defense was caught napping.
East Bengal fail to mount a comeback
Armando Colaco replaced an ineffective Milan Susak at the beginning of the second half. Gurwinder Singh replaced the Aussie defender.
Derrick Pereira for obvious reasons instructed his players to shut the doors in the second half. Salgaocar started defending in numbers and blocked the East Bengal attackers in the midfield area itself. Ranti Martins remained ineffective as he marked with a double covering.
Against the run of play, Salgaocar scored their third goal of the match in the 65th minute. Bryan Mascarenhas converted the final goal for his team from Gilbert Oliveira’s cross which was deflected by Gurwinder’s head, and that was the the final nail in East Bengal’s coffin.
Dudu scored his first goal of the Hero I-league in the 77th minute, taking advantage of confusion among Salgaocar defenders.
Salgaocar remained unbeaten in four games and they now have 8 points in the league. East Bengal on the other hand suffered their first defeat of the season as their poor away form continued. They have bagged 7 points from 4 games.
