In uncertain times, Goa moves ahead with charity match

Panaji: Indian football is plagued with uncertainty as some of the top clubs wait for news on the season ahead. In Goa, there are no such worries with Sporting Clube de Goa taking on the might of Dempo SC in the season-opening charity match at the Duler Stadium in Mapusa on Sunday at 7pm.

The Goa Professional League (GPL) will kick off later this month. Sporting and Dempo were locked in an intense race for the GPL title with the former emerging champion as just a point separated the two teams, who have taken turns in winning the GPL titles in the last four editions. While Dempo’s senior side impressed on their return to the I-League as they finished sixth in the 12-team league, Sporting must start from scratch after a disappointing campaign in the I-League 2 where they failed to make the cut. Sporting have been busy in the transfer market and have overhauled their squad. “We have about 15 to 16 players from the previous season while the rest are all new,” said coach Savio Vaz. “We have been training for the past five weeks, and the players look in good shape.” Savio is back at the helm of Sporting after the departure of veteran coach Armando Colaco. He has overseen the youth teams in the past and is familiar with the players at the moment.

However, Sporting will miss some key players as Dattaraj Goankar, Joyner Lourenco, Dheeraj Chouhan and Joyson Gauncar are nursing injuries. “There are ups and downs. But as of now everything is good. Most of the boys have played under me in youth so I have faith in them,” said Savio. At the other end, Dempo will want to improve from last season’s performance. They have promoted eight players from their academy this season and it will be a first-time experience for almost 12 of them in the Goa Professional League, which is set to commence later this month. “We always aim high. The first target is to finish in the top half in the first leg and then we move forward from there. We can fight for the title,” said coach Remus Gomes.The biggest motivation for Dempo’s young squad will be to impress and make it to the senior team this season itself.