PREVIEW
The Goa team has attracted fervent support with its performance in this football-crazy state of Arunachal Pradesh, thousands of kilometres away from home. It will be counting on this fan factor to motivate itself against a competitive Services in the final of the 77th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy.
The title clash, at the Golden Jubilee Stadium here on Saturday, is expected to see a thrilling contest between former champions Services and Goa - both having overcome gritty opponents in Mizoram and Manipur.
As it remains, the standard of the competition has been high, with most of the teams showing great competitive spirit with homegrown talents.
FOLLOW: LIVE UPDATES FROM THE 77TH SANTOSH TROPHY FINAL BETWEEN SERVICES AND GOA
The Goa squad is a composition of players harvested from clubs that play in the Second Division of the national league structure. Its comeback performance to tumultuous support against the efficiency and flair of Manipur, which led till late in injury-time in the semifinal, gave out a lot about Goa’s position as one of the most talented teams in the competition.
This is underlined by the fact that five-time champion Goa has not tasted defeat in 11 outings so far and would be looking to make the most of this record when it makes its 14th appearance in the final.
Services also has a rich legacy in the competition and will aim for a seventh title, while making a 12th entry to the final. In the final, it will also have an opportunity to avenge the 2-1 defeat it suffered against Goa when the two met earlier in the group league stage.
-Amitabha Das Sharma
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Head-to-Head Record
Played: 11 | Goa wins: 5 | Draws: 3 | Services wins: 3
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