Bandodkar Trophy: FC Goa face big Brisbane Roar test

Margao: Manolo Marquez is hard to please, so it surprised nobody when the FC Goa coach said his team “can play much better” after their 4-0 win against Sporting Clube de Goa in the opening match of the Bhausaheb Bandodkar Memorial Trophy at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda.
Goa cruised to a comfortable win, but it came against a side that’s only playing in I-League 2, the third tier, with huge differences in budgets. The team’s much bigger test, though, will come on Tuesday at 7pm as the home team takes on the might of favourites Brisbane Roar FC.
After the first-round games, it’s clear that the Australians are the best in the competition. It would take a special effort to dethrone them. Against Dempo SC in their opening group game, Brisbane Roar won 5-1, despite playing more than an hour with just 10 players.
All goals were scored after Brisbane Roar had a player sent off for a second bookable offence.
“If I am a player, I would be very happy to play Brisbane Roar,” Manolo told TOI. “Usually, in India, you play against the same teams, and then when there’s a chance to play a team from the A-League, with very good players, you can know your level. You can compare. I think it’s very interesting to play these games.”
Brisbane Roar coach Ruben Zadkovich was also looking forward to the second group clash as Goa, managed by the national team coach, would provide them with a much tougher challenge.
“They are a good team, especially here on their home pitch,” said Zadkovich. “They’ve got some top-class internationals and foreigners in their team, obviously some nice goals in their game too. So far, so good. We are really looking forward to it.”
Dempo SC face Sporting Clube de Goa in an earlier match with the teams needing to win to stay alive in the tournament.
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