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I-League: The I-League Is A Knockout Tournament For Us Now - Sporting Clube De Goa's Vishwas Gaonkar
Everything went according to the plan...
18-Apr-2010 7:38:00 AM
By Rahul Bali
Sporting Clube De Goa have been a thorn for Churchill Brothers for quite a while. Last season, they beat the defending I-League champions 1-0 in the second phase which did put their chances of eventually winning the title under question.
In the 2007-08 season, Fredy Mascarenhas equalised for Sporting to make the scoreline 1-1 and thus, dented Karim Bencherifa’s Churchill side to be on course to win the I-League.
On Saturday they defeated Churchill Brothers 2-1 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and thus, almost ended the hopes of them winning successive I-League titles.
“We had planned and prepared for this game. Everything went according to it. We believe we had a chance to win against Churchill by just playing the ball along the ground,” said coach Vishwas Gaonkar.
The Flaming Oranje are placed at the bottom of the table and have another five games to go before their fate will be decided. And the going wouldn’t be easier given that they face the league leaders, Dempo SC in the next game.
“The boys are showing a great spirit. Everyone now believes in us. I told the boys that we are not playing any big teams. It’s just 11 against 11 and you have to show that you are better.
“The same trend will continue against Dempo too,”
But victories for Shillong Lajong and JCT on the same day isn’t good news for the Goan club but Gaonkar chooses to look on the bright side.
“We are not concerned about others. We have to focus on our victory. Each one has the power of ‘I can.’ If everyone in the team believes in that power then it becomes ‘We can.’
“For us, it’s a knockout tournament. With the help of God, everything is possible,” said an optimist Gaonkar.
The former Sesa Academy coach wasn’t pleased with the refereeing as he made his displeasure known.
“I was a little annoyed with some of the refereeing decisions. It was not a penalty and Samanada shouldn’t have got the card (red),” he added.
In the 2007-08 season, Fredy Mascarenhas equalised for Sporting to make the scoreline 1-1 and thus, dented Karim Bencherifa’s Churchill side to be on course to win the I-League.
On Saturday they defeated Churchill Brothers 2-1 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and thus, almost ended the hopes of them winning successive I-League titles.
“We had planned and prepared for this game. Everything went according to it. We believe we had a chance to win against Churchill by just playing the ball along the ground,” said coach Vishwas Gaonkar.
The Flaming Oranje are placed at the bottom of the table and have another five games to go before their fate will be decided. And the going wouldn’t be easier given that they face the league leaders, Dempo SC in the next game.
“The boys are showing a great spirit. Everyone now believes in us. I told the boys that we are not playing any big teams. It’s just 11 against 11 and you have to show that you are better.
“The same trend will continue against Dempo too,”
But victories for Shillong Lajong and JCT on the same day isn’t good news for the Goan club but Gaonkar chooses to look on the bright side.
“We are not concerned about others. We have to focus on our victory. Each one has the power of ‘I can.’ If everyone in the team believes in that power then it becomes ‘We can.’
“For us, it’s a knockout tournament. With the help of God, everything is possible,” said an optimist Gaonkar.
The former Sesa Academy coach wasn’t pleased with the refereeing as he made his displeasure known.
“I was a little annoyed with some of the refereeing decisions. It was not a penalty and Samanada shouldn’t have got the card (red),” he added.
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