voldemort

They had started out with great ambition for the inaugural season of the I-League. Despite losing influential players like Micky Fernandes and Julius Akpele in the close season, they managed to snare a few talents of their own in the form of the dangerous Chimaokwu and Malaswamtulunga.
The season started off with a tough assignment against defending champions and favorites to retain the trophy, Dempo. The match was well fought but Salgaocar were thoroughly outclassed by an awesome Dempo who beat them 3-0 through a Chidi Edeh double and a strike by Ranty Martins.
The Salgaocar side did not look like a unit with Felix Chimaokwu, a lone figure upfront and PK Anil Kumar not living up to the hype. Coach Basumatari also did not instill much confidence into a shaky back four and things were definitely not looking the way they should have.
The second round encounter with Air India saw a rejuvenated and worked up Salgaocar side. The team played good football from the word go. Malaswamtulunga, Chimaokwu, Anil Kumar and Biju Kumar all put in good performances but could not find a way past the Airmen’s custodian Sarath. Rocus Lamare put in a superb performance leading the line from the front and orchestrating almost every Salgaocar attack. But lapses in defence cost them as Santosh Koli put Air India into the lead. An 86th minute header by substitute Milagrio Gonsalves rescued a point for Salgaocar where they surely should have had three.
Another under par performance and the club were already reeling. Salgaocar faced stiff opposition in the third round in the form of East Bengal who were looking to cement their position ahead of the mid-table teams. Again it was a poor defence that cost Salgaocar dearly as Edmilson put EB ahead in the 19th minute. Salgaocar fought hard and leveled through Biju Kumar. Ashim Biswas then put East Bengal back into the lead. From that point, the Salgaocar defence self destructed as first Biju Kumar brought down Edmilson to concede a stupid penalty which was put away by the Brazilian.
Remus Gomes then made a silly tackle on Ashim Biswas and then exchanged words with Alvito. A red card resulted leaving Salgaocar with 10 men for the remaining 30 minutes. Malaswamtulunga managed to score one against his old club to give his side a chance but it was all too little too late.
In the fourth round, Salgaocar were looking to register their first win of their season against fellow strugglers Sporting Clube de Goa. It was a scrappy affair and again Salgaocar managed to dominate the first half without scoring. But the breakthrough came when Milagrio Gonsalves score his second of the season off a Chimaokwu cross. Salgaocar should have put the game to bed with the amount of chances they had but instead it was Sporting who rallied and equalized through Obagbemiro Elijah in the 65th minute. Another excellent performance by Rocus Lamare in vain as it was certainly another case of two points dropped rather than one gained.
Their defensive frailties seemed to be overawing their attacking prowess which was definitely a worry for coach Savio Mediera.
Salgaocar’s next assignment was against a formidable Viva Kerala side who were playing far better football than was expected from them as newcomers. Salgaocar meanwhile faced the ignominy of going into this one rooted to the bottom of the table. Viva produced the better football as they scored through Wisdom Abbey in the 40th minute.
Salgaocar again played well attacking as a close knit unit and reaped the rewards when Ambani scored off a Chimaokwu pass. Viva upped the tempo and the Salgaocar defence again crumbled as first Baba Thunde and then Saleel put the game past Salgaocar. Two points from five games was hardly a decent return from a team with good players like Felix Chimaokwu, Rocus Lamare and Malaswamtulunga on their squad.
Round six saw a poor match between Mahindra United and Salgaocar with both sides creating few chances. Salgaocar came close through Angelo Colaco who hit the bar with a free header. But they failed to capitalize on poor finishing by Mahindra as they failed to beat Nandy between the Jeepmen’s sticks. Another poor display and the warning bells were ringing.
Round 7 saw a thrilling game for the viewers, but Salgaocar will definitely feel hard done by having lost after scoring four goals. Again it was their defensive howlers which haunted them as they let Mohun Bagan put five past them and also steal all three points. Another fantastic performance by Felix Chimaokwu and Rocus Lamare was in vain.
They next faced an in form Churchill side who had the ever dangerous Odafa Okolie who has been a revelation in the league so far with eight goals. Odafa made short work of the shaky Salgaocar defence as he scored three goals in six minutes to give the scoreline a flattering look.
Salgaocar dominated the start and some good play by Chimaokwu, Malaswamtulunga and Bonafice Ambani saw them create good chances. Chimaokwu put Salgaocar into the lead as he scored of a Fabio Passos pass. The lead was short lived as Odafa equalized two minutes later. Both teams pressed on in search of a winner but it was Churchill who got the breakthrough as the Salgaocar defence gave way for the umpteenth time this season and Rowlison Rodrigues duly obliged.
Thereafter Odafa took centre stage as he bamboozled the defence and the goalkeeper to bang in three goals in six minutes one of them, a 30 yard stinger. The other two goals also had the defence and the goalkeeper to blame as poor positioning and chaos ruled the roost. With Sporting Clube de Goa managing to notch up their first win, Salgaocar were now three points adrift at the bottom.
Eight rounds gone and with only three points on the board, the Salgaocar staff have their work cut out for them. Only a good string of results and solid performances from the back four complementing their attackers will save Salgaocar.
As of now, for every fan, it is a sorry state of affairs to see their team lose week in week out. More so after seeing their team play well but undoing their won good work. Salgaocar will definitely be hoping that their fortune changes with the turn in the year.




source:goal.com