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Salgaocar FC took everyone by surprise with a splendid 2-0 victory over FC Pune City in their opening match of the AWES Cup, organised by Association for the Wellbeing of Elder Sportspersons in collaboration with Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco on Wednesday.
FC Pune City are here with their senior squad and fielded two separate foreign players in each half, yet Salgaocar were unfazed and collected full points by scoring in each half. Ronaldo Oliveira opened the tally for Salgaocar in the 23rd minute, while Devendra Murgaonkar doubled the score in the 63rd minute.
The victory puts Salgaocar in an advantageous position in Group A which also has Dempo SC (3 points) and pointless FC Goa.
Pune City started the match well and had proceedings under control with a short passing game. However, Salgaocar were ready to play the waiting game and created chances of their own. The first came as early as the seventh minute when Oliveira was nicely fed by Mackroy Peixoto with a long free-kick, but the striker’s attempted tap-in was pushed out for a corner by the Pune goalkeeper.
Minutes later, Salgaocar had Pune City rattled when Daniel Gomes’ long ranger struck the goalpost.
Salgaocar took the lead in the 23rd minute when Murgaonkar made a superb run and then set the ball up for Ronaldo who made no mistake from close range.
Pune City tried to claw their way back but Salgaocar stood firm and added another goal just after the hour mark. This time the goal came from a set-piece as Peixoto’s corner was beautifully headed inside the goal by Devendra.
For the rest of the game, Pune City tried to take the battle to the opposition but did not enjoy any clear cut chances. Their star striker Marcelinho Pereira tried a few tricks but Salgaocar were not to be denied of a victory.
Tomorrow’s Match: Sporting Clube de Goa v Sesa Football Academy, 4pm, Tilak Maidan – Vasco
