Salgaocar who dominated the major part of the game rallied from behind to hold JCT to an exciting 3-3 draw in the 9th round of the ONGC I-League played at Nehru Stadium, Margao on Thursday.
Eduardo Da Silva, Marcos Pereira (49th) and Anwar (63rd) for JCT. While Felix Chimaoku (40th), Joe Rodriguess (61st) and Nicholas Rodrigues (67th).
Salgaocar who dominated the major part of the game have themselves to blame for not collecting full points as they missed couple of easy chances especially Felix Chimaokwu and Milagres Gonsalves.
JCT who finished their first leg, kept their unbeaten run intact are on top of the table with 19 points from 9 matches. While Salgaocar have collected 4 points from as many matches.
Salgaocar's Medio Rocus lamare was declared the man of the match.
JCT who were pushed on the back foot in the first half took the lead in the 9th minute through a penalty, after referee Dinesh Nair awarded the penalty for a foul on Sunil Chetri by defender Hery Habimana inside the box. Eduardo Da Silva who took the penalty made no mistake to find the net.
Salgaocar who needed a win badly after a series of defeat started aggressive from the start probing into the rival half with series of raids, created lot of scoring chances but their strikers wasted the chances particularly Felix Chimaokwu who missed an open chance to find the equals in the 20th minute.
However, he made amends to his earlier lapse to find the equaliser in the 40th minute when send an angular left footer to find the far post off a pass from Joe Rodrigues to have both the teams leading 1-1 at half time.
JCT who are looking to end the first leg with their unbeaten run intact raised their game in the second half and again took the lead in the 49th minute when Marcos Pereira beat Salgaocar keeper Milagrio Medeira with a glancing header off a centre by Eduardo Da Silva.
Salgaocar retaliated and restored parity in the 61st minute. Accepting a ball on the left, Nicholas Rodrigues send a measured cross deep into the box for Joe Rodrigues who headed in.
The goal enliven the proceeding with the ball moving from one end to another and JCT again went ahead in the 63rd minute when Anwar send a powerful header to the roof of the net off a flag kick taken by Marcos Pereira.
But JCT Joy was shortlived four minutes later when Salgaocar equalised through Nicholas Rodrigues whose gentle left footer fouled the far corner of the next off a cross by Joe Rodrigues.
Referee Dinesh Nair showed yellow card to Salgaocar's Biju Kumar, Hery Habimana, William Colaco and JCT's Marcos Pereira and Gurwinder Singh.
Salgaocar went all out in the last quarter of the match in search of a winner and Milagres Gonsalves made a mess of an open chance infront of the goal keeper off a pass from substitute William Colaco.
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