Silchar: Salgaocar held on to an early goal
by their Guinean import Mandjou Keita to beat JCT by a
solitary goal in their opening match of the Federation Cup
football tournament here today.
Keita scored the all-important goal in the 14th minute to
give the Goan side full three points in a Group A match at the
Satindra Mohan Dev Memorial Stadium here.
JCT were caught off guard early into the match and Manjit
Singh's precise free kick from the top of the box found Keita
heading in to put his team in front.
Jolted by the early goal, the Punjab side played
attacking football all through the match but failed to get the
equaliser.
The closest they came to restore parity was in the 34th
minute when Ikechukwu Penn Orji's right-footed free-kick after
Balwant Singh was brought down by a defender was brilliantly
clawed away for a corner by Salgaocar goalkeeper Kalyan
Chaubey.
JCT will play their second group match against Viva
Kerala on Thursday while Salgaocar face East Bengal on the
same day.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, December 22, 2009, 21:55