Sports Shorts: FC Goa edge out Kerala Blasters

A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday

FC Goa put an end to Kerala Blasters FC's resurgence as the visitors handed them a 2-1 defeat in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) in Kochi.

With David James replacing Rene Meulensteen, Kerala had secured seven points from his first three games in charge, as much as Meulensteen in his seven games.

However, the loss against Jamshedpur FC in the last game was followed by another 1-2 defeat at the hands of FC Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Ferran Corominas scored his 10th goal of the season in the seventh minute while another Spaniard, Edu Bedia, secured the winner in the 77th minute after CK Vineeth had drawn his team level in the 29th minute.

The win gave FC Goa 19 points from 10 matches but they continue to be placed fourth on the table.

The Goans however have a match in hand and can move to the top of the table if they can defeat Mumbai City FC in their next match at home coming Sunday.

Jamshedpur's fightback floors Dynamos in five-goal thriller

Jamshedpur FC staged a remarkable recovery after being two goals down as they upstaged the Indian Super League's bottom-placed side Delhi Dynamos 3-2 in a five-goal thriller in Jamshedpur.

Delhi started this Hero ISL clash on the front foot thanks to a brace from Kalu Uche in the 20th and 22nd minutes.

But Jamshedpur FC never gave up. First, Tiri (29th minute) pulled a goal back before half-time and in the second session Yumnam Raju made it 2-2 in the 54th minute.

It was then left for substitute Trinandade Goncalves to score the match winner for the hosts in the 86th minute.

The three points have lifted Jamshedpur FC to the fifth spot on the points table with 16 points from 11 matches.

Dicka strikes sink East Bengal in Kolkata derby

Criticised for being profligate inside the 18-yard box, Dipanda Dicka stepped up his game when it mattered most with two brilliant goals, as Mohun Bagan outclassed East Bengal 2-0 in a much-anticipated I-League derby in Kolkata.

Written off in the run-up to the high-voltage fixture due to their prolonged slump, a beleaguered Mohun Bagan found a star in Dicka, who showed his predatory skills with a couple of volleys out of top drawer as East Bengal's hopes of winning the league almost went up in smoke.

Mohun Bagan jumped two places to be fourth in the standings after their dominating finish and they have 16 points with a match in hand against East Bengal, who slipped to third with 19 points from 10 outings.

This was East Bengal's second loss of the season and both have come against their bitter foes, the first being a 0-1 defeat on December 3 in the first-leg.

Emotional scenes were witnessed in the embattled Mariners camp as the green-and-maroon fans sported masks of Sony Norde, their injured star I-League winning striker, who has decided to part ways.

Shiv Kapur finishes tied 23rd at Singapore Open

India's Shiv Kapur ended tied 23rd after a disappointing three-over in the fourth and final round while compatriots Jyoti Randhawa and Gaganjeet Bhullar shared the 27th spot in the USD 1 million SMBC Singapore Open.

Kapur totalled two-under 282 (70-67-71-74) - one stroke ahead of Randhawa and Bhullar - at the Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong course.

Arjun Atwal was joint 47th with a total of two-over 286 (73-67-74-72), while S Chikka shared the 60th position on five-over 289 total.

Spaniard Sergio Garcia won the tournament as he carded a three-under 68 to record a dominant five-shot victory. He got a four-day total of 14-under 270 (66-70-66-68).

The 2017 Masters Tournament champion built his one-shot lead at the start of round four into a five-shot advantage after nine holes.

PNB beat Canara Bank 2-0 to lift Sr National Hockey title

Punjab National Bank (PNB) defeated Canara Bank 2-0 in the final to win the eighth Hockey India (HI) Senior Men National Championship 2018 (Division B), in Imphal.

The final match saw both teams keeping it tight at the back which meant that it was tough for the forwards to find a goal in the first two quarters.

The scores remained 0-0 at the half-time, but it was PNB who broke the deadlock in the 38th minute when Sukhjeet Singh found the back of the net to give his team a much deserved 1-0 lead.

Canara Bank tried to attack as they looked for an equaliser, but PNB' defense was up to the task. The latter's resolute defending saw them keep out Canara Bank's efforts in the final quarter.

PNB also kept attacking their opponents and were finally rewarded with a second goal in the 57th minute when Satender Dalal found the back of the net to secure a 2-0 win for his team.

In the third-fourth place classification match, it was Central Secretariat who prevailed over Bengaluru Hockey Association with 10-1 scoreline.