Kelvin D’Souza’s strike helps Mangalore Blues S.C. see off Karnatak S.C.

by Balbir Singh November 8, 2015

The second game played on 7th November 2015 at the Karnatak Sports Association ground, Mumbai in the 20th edition of Late Sri Ramanath Payyade League Football between Mangalore Blues S.C. and Sri Krishna S.C. ended in the favour of the (Mangalore) Blues when number 13 Kelvin D’Souza scored the game’s only goal 8 minutes into the second-half.

Both teams displayed a similar style of football; both teams were managed by the same Coach. In the first-half, which ended goalless, Mangalore Sports Club create 2 two goal-scoring chances in comparison to Shree Krishna Sports Club’s 1 chance. While number 4 Vishwanath Karandekar’s 6^th minute free-kick hit the crossbar, Mangalore S.C. came close to scoring twice within 2 minutes, first when Joshua Almeida missed-out on a tap-in opportunity, and later when number 12 Aaron Machado bottled a golden-chance by dragging his attempt wide of the goal as he tried to lob the ball over the Karnatak S.C. goalkeeper.

Shree Krishna S.C. made a change just before the end of first-half and another on half-time in an attempt to change the course of the game in their favour. In an aim to breakdown the Mangalore S.C. defence, the Karnatak S.C. pushed higher-up the field, creating a hefty space in-behind to run-into. In a similar occasion, Blues’ number 13 Kelvin D’Souza expertly beat the offside trap, clean-through on goal, keeping his calm in a one-on-one opportunity, he guided the ball into the back of the net. The goal provided a much needed breakthrough to one side in an otherwise balanced encounter.

In the last-quarter of the game, both teams made one substitution each in order to bring-in fresh-legs into the game. As the game reached its climax, the Mangalore Blues were presented with 3 great opportunities as Karnatak S.C. pushed for an equalizer. Kelvin D’Souza’s attempt was saved by the busier of the two goalkeepers on the day,  Aaron Machado’s shot was straight into the goalkeeper’s gloves and another attempt from him was easily gathered by the Karnatak S.C. goalkeeper.

There were two standout players in the game, number 14 Vimesh Salian from Mangalore Blues S.C. and number 4 Vishwanath Karandekar from Karnatak S.C. Vimesh Salian’s solid performance at the heart of the Blues’ defence gives him an edge over his counterpart Vishwanath for the man of match.