National Games football: Maharashtra defeat Goa 5-3

  Kozhikode, Feb 3
Maharashtra moved a step closer towards a semifinal berth as they defeated Goa 5-3 in their second group match of the 35th National Games here Tuesday.

Pune's Mohamed Irshad scored a brace while Abhishek Ambekar, Sandesh Gadkari and skipper Vijith Shetty scored a goal apiece to seal Maharashtra’s victory. In the process, they avenged their 1-2 defeat to Goa in the Santosh Trophy West Zone qualifiers last month.

After going into halftime with a 3-1 lead, Maharashtra scored two and conceded two in the last quarter. The win takes them to third spot with three points from two matches. They will now have to win their last match against Tamil Nadu Thursday for a confirmed semi-final berth.