When the Gaurs galloped, the lions forgot to roar

FC Goa's Reinaldo celebrates after netting the second goal of the day

When the Gaurs gallop , the lions forget how to roar. Instead , the 18,000 odd spectators at the Nehru stadium in Fatorda, broke out into a riot of emotions. Four minutes were enough for Romeo and Mandar to repay Zico with the trust reposed on them. As the match meandered through the ninety minutes and FC Goa walked home victorious 2-0, Zico's storyline read a simple home truth-honesty pays in football too.

Romeo Fernandes time and again proved that he is a different player under the Brazilian's tutelage. He was at the right place , at the right time;handled his opponents with maturity-this included John Riise- and when to release the ball to his colleagues to bludgeon the opponents goal. There were times when he made playing look so easy. Mandar Rao Desai had an equally eloquent ninety minutes on the pitch. The two used the flanks with speed and sent in crosses that had coach Roberto Carlos watch exasperatedly at his team mates on the pitch.

FC Goa's comfort level against Delhi was borne out from the fact that captain Lucio , Gregory Arnolin and goalkeeper Elinton Andrade created a defensive buffer that gave their opponents little room to play into their penalty area. Lucio and Arnolin let nothing pass them - as the stopper backs of the team they covered space and anticipated intelligently.The long range shots were deftly dealt by goalkeeper Elinton. Keenan Almeida and Debabrata Roy who who played as right and left backs were given plenty of room to have a ball. After long , Zico proved that defense is still the best form of attack.

Delhi did enjoy ball possession for the greater part of the first session after being down. Infact , they earned four corners to FC Goa's none. But , that was because they tried to break the FC Goa defense with long shots at goal. With things not working , Carlos thought it best to take the jump himself. His entry in the second half -if anything - proved that sometimes age pulls it's own strings. The closest he came to give a glimpse of his past was when the game had lapsed to extra time.He let go a free kick that for once had Elinton in trouble. The power in his shots had Elinton grappling to avoid the ball rolling in after he stopped it with his body. It showed that age does not always evaporate power.

 FC Goa's second goal reflected opportunism. Spanish Joffre let go a powerful free kick towards Brazilian Reinaldo. The last named sidestepped his marker and smashed the ball past a helpless Delhi goalkeeper Sanjiban Ghosh.

In a way , that was a cue for Zico that it was time to shut shop for more adventures up front.Luciano Sabrosa came in place of Joffre and Indian Sabeeth replaced forward Reinaldo. Jonatan luca took the place of Moura.

Delhi dynamos did try to make meaningful forays but by then , the FC Goa players were well camped in their own territory. With the numbers in their favour , there was little the men from the North could do.

As the referee blew the long whistle one reality was clear-FC Goa did the right thing leaving the onus on Zico. The man can be trusted. For , just on the first days performance-barring some uneventful mishaps-FC Goa has been moulded to play creative and clean football.