Panaji: When Punjab FC trooped out for the break, down by a goal against FC Goa, they didn’t know what awaited them in the second half. They would have been confident of drawing level and even overturning the deficit.Such confidence wasn’t misplaced. For the first 45 minutes, Punjab were the dominant side, missing a plethora of chances. Goa were on the back foot.In the second half, it was a different story as Goa capitalised on every chance that came their way to stun Punjab 4-0 in the first-leg semifinal of the Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL) semifinal at Atal Stadium, Bambolim, on Sunday.Asher Franz Rodrigues broke the deadlock in the 35th minute, while Prachit Gaonkar, Konsam Akash Singh (penalty) and Shaikh Mohamad Ismail helped Goa take a giant leap towards the final.Punjab have been the most dominant team in the competition, and as expected from a side that has scored 53 goals in 20 matches, losing just two, they started on the front foot. Vishal Yadav, Arshvir Singh and Omang Dodum all had chances from inside the box but could not finish.Then, against the run of play, Asher headed home a cross from Bryson Pereira to give Goa the lead.Goa enjoyed a slice of luck for the second when Prachit’s strike struck the legs of a defender and sailed over the goalkeeper. The third came from Akash’s penalty after Asher was brought down.Goa’s fourth goal had class written all over it as Ismail added his name to the scorers list with a beautiful strike.Punjab came close to pulling a goal back, only to be denied by goalkeeper Lionel Rymmei.Earlier, Bengaluru FC delivered a masterclass, dismantling Kerala Blasters FC 7-0. Adil P started the scoring, followed quickly by Cyrus Abhilash. Bengaluru refused to let up, as Rakshit P Anil, Nee Hang Subba, and Surajkumar Singh added further gloss to a scoreline that highlighted their defensive discipline and offensive depth.The second leg matches will be played at Bambolim on Wednesday.
