Climax Lawrence can bring thrust into Goa attack

Kochi: An absorbing tussle is on the cards as formidable Goa, gunning for their fourth title, lock horns with Maharashtra in the final of the Santosh Trophy football championship at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Monday.

Both teams have shown improvement as the tournament has progressed. However, the Goans have had a tremendous run of success so far and enjoy the psychological advantage of having scored 41 goals so far, while conceding only one.

Goa have won the Cup thrice. In 1983, they shared the trophy with Bengal in Calcutta, in 1984 they won in Chennai and again in 1990 at home.

Maharashtra’s progress has been praiseworthy, too, since it had to overcome the challenges posed by tough teams, including former champions Services and 29-time winners Bengal, who they beat 2-0. In the semi-finals, Maharashtra managed to edge out hosts Kerala with a solitary goal.

On the other hand, the Goans, after a 6-0 win over Assam, found the going tough against Manipur in the last quarter final league and managed to share honours with a 1-1 draw. In their semi-final match, they beat Punjab 2-0.

The Goans’ fortunes revolve around their star striking duo of Freddy Mascarenhas and Antony Pereira, who have scored eight goals each in the tournament so far. Their midfield is reliable and the resourceful Climax Lawrence and Peter Carvalho can bring thrust into the attack. Nippy Micky Fernandes and Nicholas Rodrigues, with their speed and ball control, will lend sharpness to the attack.

Maharashtra, too, have a strong attacking line spearheaded by Yadav and hardworking Soccor Velho. Rauf Khan and Steven Dias are a force to reckon with in the Maharashtra midfield.

Kerala third

Defending champions Kerala defeated last year’s runners up Punjab 2-1 to get the third place on Sunday. Pradeep put Kerala in the lead in the 62nd minute, while Narinder Singh equalised in the 77th minute. But Asif Saheer struck the winning goal for the hosts within a minute.