PANAJI
Cortalim Villagers SWSC edged past Calangute Association 1-0 in a tense Goa Professional League clash at Duler Stadium, Mapusa. Substitute Preston Fernandes was the hero, coming off the bench to convert from a Velroy Carvalho cross. The Calangute goalkeeper's punch fell kindly for Fernandes, who calmly slotted home to secure all three points.
Calangute’s Pandurang Gauns led the charge up front, while Edwin Viegas anchored the defense to keep Cortalim at bay. Meanwhile, Cortalim relied heavily on midfield orchestrator Pushkar Prabhu but missed the clinical finishing of former striker Vikram Venkatachalam, who joined Sporting Clube de Goa in the summer.
In the first half, Pushkar came close to breaking the deadlock with a low drive that skimmed the post, while Calangute threatened through a dangerous cross from Sunny, only for Alister Fernandes to clear.
After the break, Calangute made attacking substitutions, bringing on Richard and Jovito, while Cortalim introduced Preston. Calangute nearly capitalized on their changes, but Richard’s close-range effort was denied by the Cortalim goalkeeper.
The breakthrough came in the 65th minute when Carvalho’s cross forced a punch from the Calangute keeper, falling perfectly for Preston to tap into the net. Despite Melvin’s desperate effort to clear, the ball crossed the line for the decisive goal.
Calangute had their chances to equalize, with Akash Sanadi firing wide and Pandurang missing an open-net opportunity after a save from the Cortalim keeper. In the end, Cortalim held on for a hard-fought victory.
