Mandar Rao Dessai appeared to have scored FC Goa’s first goal of the ISL season on Sunday, but match officials had a different view. It was ruled an own-goal, marked against Delhi Dynamos’s Souvik Chakraborty. Dessai is understandably disappointed.
“I got the last touch, but the goal was not given to me. I don’t know what happened,” he says, in a chat with The Hindu here on Monday.
Regardless of the official ruling, Dessai counts the strike as his own. “Before entering the field, I told my friends that I will score. I’m happy that it came true, even though it was given as an own-goal.
“I was determined to score, because even though I had a lot of assists last season, I could not get a goal. I even told my father a few days ago that if I find the net once, more goals will come,” he says.
The 23-year-old from Guirim (Mapusa) is especially pleased that the cross arrived from fellow Goan, Romeo Fernandes. “I have played alongside Romeo in the junior and senior levels. We have a good understanding. When he made that run on the flank, I knew I had to sprint inside the box and receive his pass,” Dessai says.
Huge supportThe huge crowd at Fatorda was thrilled to see the two local lads combine to get FC Goa on the scoresheet. “My friends and family were in the stands” he says.
Dessai adds that he can always count on his manager, Zico, for wise counsel. “Zico tells me that I should always attack when I enter the opposition half. He says that nobody can stop me, because I’m very fast,” he states.
“The ISL has given us huge recognition, especially for local players like myself. At the end of the last season, a lot of people waited outside my home to welcome me. My parents and I were proud to see that,” Dessai says.
