Goa Velha rallied to edge past Corps of Signals 2-1 in preliminary knockout stage of their Pool B group match in the 127th Durand Cup here today.
Goa Velha started promisingly with Oilex Oliveira and Suraj Hadkonkar making an early attempt at the opposition goal post, though those were saved by rival keeper Binu T P.
Oliveira then managed to net the ball in the 15th minute but was ruled off side by referee Maria Rebello.
Corps of Signals, whose defense did well to soak the pressure, also came with occasional forays and took the lead in the 35th minute after coming close on couple of occasions.
Lalruata Fela from inside the box passed the ball to Roshan Singh, who shot home through the legs of goalkeeper Siddesh Morje to give Corps of Signals a 1-0 lead at half time.
Goa Velha continued to dominate the second half and had large share of exchanges and scoring chances. They finally equalised in the 51st minute through Joshua Vaz, who beat rushing keeper Binu and netted the ball.
Corps retaliated and nearly took the lead once again but Suahal's shot was tipped over by the Goan keeper.
After this close shave, Goa Velha scored the winner in the 71st minute with Suraj Hadkonkar getting the pass from Joshua Vaz. He hoodwinked a rival defender inside the box and sent a deft placement to the far corner of the net.
The Goa outfit continued to dictate terms and could have increased the margin but Suraj twice failed to beat the keeper from close range. His attempts went straight into the keeper's hands in the dying minutes.
Earlier in the first match played at 2STC ground, Navelim, All India Football Federation U-19 thrashed Youngsters Club Chandigarh 5-0.
AIFF, who led 1-0 at half time scored through Robin Singh (39th), Rakesh (67th), Prashant (68th) and Milan Basumatry (70th, 89th).
AIFF will now meet Goa Velha in the quarter-finals on October 24.
