I-League second division: Ozone FC Bengaluru, FC Goa ‘B' in stalemate

Bengaluru, March 20: FC Goa reserves managed to hold Ozone FC Bengaluru to a 0-0 draw in a dull I-League second division encounter at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Tuesday (March 20). Both teams had few chances to score but none could break the deadlock in the Group B match. Ozone came into the game with a confident 4-1 win over Kerala Blasters 'B' in Kochi, while FC Goa had beaten Madhya Bharat SC in Fatorda.

On Tuesday however, Ozone could not repeat the scoring touch they showed in Kochi. "We have played more than 10 competitive matches in the last 30 days," Ozone coach David Booth reflected after the match. "It was for the first time that our passing went astray. Otherwise, FC Goa never had a clear chance at our goal. Our goalkeeper Abhishek Das did not even have to make one save in the game so that shows we were solid at the back. Just that our passing could have been better and probably, the best two teams in the group played it out today. We also had a penalty call go against us in the first half. That could have changed things around."

FC Goa 'B' coach, Clifford Miranda, a former India midfielder felt it was a great performance by the young team in challenging conditions. Each reserve team of the Indian Super League has to field at least eight Under-22 players and Goa had just one senior player in the squad - Meldon Silva. "We had two chances in the first half and three more in the second," Miranda said. "We could have gone for the three points. But it's still a great performance by the boys in this under-maintained turf. We expected better playing conditions."

The game could have turned its head in the 11th minute when Robert de Souza, Ozone's Brazilian striker, twisted his way around the FC Goa defenders and beat three markers on his way to the box only to hit a weak shot straight to the goalkeeper.

CS Sabeeth, Robert's strike partner, was sent through by the Brazilian in the 23rd minute, but he was overpowered by Silva at the 10-yard line.

Three minutes later, Mohammed Yasir of FC Goa had a shot cleared off the goalline. That was the best opportunity for Goa to take the lead in the game. Their captain Liston Colaco ran across from the end line and squared to Yasir, who was waiting next to the penalty spot. The midfielder's shot was sure to go into the net if not for a clearance by Ozone defender Lenstan Afonso.

The second half saw fewer chances from both sides. Substitute Lalawmpuia, who came on for Aaren D'Silva in the 73rd minute, played a great cameo. Liston latched onto a poor pass by Ozone midfielder Anto Xavier, who under pressure from FC Goa's Saviour Gama. Liston delightfully played Lalawmpuia through but the striker was physically overpowered and even as he kept the possession of the ball near the left end-line, he could only manage to hit the side-netting.

Ozone will play their next game two weeks later, on April 5 against Fateh Hyderabad. FC Goa play Hyderabad on March 24.