Venkatesh strike nails Salgaocar

MUMBAI: "The outcome will depend on which team avails of the chances," had remarked Salgaocar coach Savio Medeira on the eve of their 8th National Football League match against Mahindra United at the Cooperage on Sunday. To the heartbreak of the Salgaocar supporters, Medeira’s team did not.
Stout defending by the local outfit aided by poor finishing of the Salgaocar strikeforce helped Mahindra record their third win in five matches as the jeepmen hung on to S Venkatesh’s 24th minute strike to log full points and take their tally to nine.
It was Salgaocar’s third reverse in five matches, and agonisingly for them the margin in all three being 0-1.
Venkatesh struck from a corner-kick as he bent low to head Falguni Datta’s fine delivery at the near post. The ball entered the net after taking a deflection off a Salgaocar defender.
Otherwise it was an evenly contested first half with both teams creating a couple of openings.
At the start of the second session, Mahindra had a great chance to double the lead. Midfielder Jules Alberto thrust a lovely through ball to put Abhishek Yadav in the clear but the lanky striker hit wide.
However Medeira’s decision to introduce Gurjinder Singh at the right wing-back position made a difference. The youngster playing his first NFL match showed spunk and made an immediate impact.
Salgaocar’s attacks started flowing from the right as they took advantage of the tiring Mahindra defender Falguni Datta. Salgaocar lifted the pace of their game and enjoyed a spell of complete domination starting from the hour-mark. A series of chances followed, but to the disappointment of the Goan team camp, all went abegging.
Skipper Climax Lawrence ballooned over, Felix Ibrebru blasted over, substitute Samson Singh shot wide. But the most glaring miss came from their key-playmaker Jatin Bisht, who failed to connect a header on a cross from Gurjinder with an open goal in front of him.
But what probably saved the day for the home team was a double substitution and their ploy of slowing down the pace of the game. The advent of Rauf Khan for Datta made a lot of difference as the sturdy youngster effectively plugged the right side.
Midfielder Hekmat Singh, who came in for Venkatesh, also made a vital contribution in releasing the pressure with tough tackles.
With central defenders Covan Lawrence, Arun Malhotra and Peter Siddique putting up an inspired show, Mahindra’s held off the Salgaocar charge.
Mahindra have nine points after five matches while Salgaocar remain on six.