CHENNAI: Whoever named the Goan skipper Climax Lawrence preempted that he had a wonderful sense of occasion. Unnoticeable until then, he converted a penalty in the 93rd minute, with the slightest of hassle to power Goa to the summit clash against Bengal, a repeat of the 1999 Santosh Trophy final. It was literally anti-climatic. Tamil Nadu, which had dominated throughout were undone by a rare blemish by centre-back Kali Allaudin, who pulled Francis Fernandes in the box that ensued in a penalty.
In many ways, the match resembled the quarterfinal against Punjab, which Tamil Nadu lost. A little more urgency on Bengkok’s part could have given the hosts lead in the 20th minute. But his characteristic two-step retreat, upon receiving a sumptuous cross, provided enough time for the Goan defender to cover him and Bengkok returned the ball to Kulothungan, whose flick zoomed over the post.
Four minutes later, Muthu shimmied past two Goan defenders with a couple of sublime dodges and shot. Goalkeeper Felix D’Souza negotiated it well.
The almost-scored tale resumed in the second half. Tamil Nadu’s tale of missed chances continued. Primarily bent on counter-attacks and without being overwhelmingly aggressive, Goa conjured chances and tested the TN defense. But except for Kali’s blemish in the dying minutes, they were more or less compact. But so cruel can this game be that it offers no reprieves.
Tamil Nadu 0 lost to Goa 1 (Climax Lawrence 93)
Crowd erupts
It’s possibly the blackest day in Tamil Nadu football history. Irked by Goa’s injury time goal, the nearly 5,000s-strong crowd went berserk. What followed was utter chaos, that the Police intervened to curb the outrage.
The authorities stated that the estimated loss accounts to Rs 5 lakh, and it should take some negotiations before another football tournament is conducted here.