Services sprung a surprise, holding title favourites Bengal to a 1-1 draw while strong contenders Goa got past a spirited Maharashtra 2-0 in the men's soccer Group 'B' league matches at the 32nd National Games in Hyderabad on Friday.
Bengal squandered the chance to win the match after taking the lead in the first-half as Services equalised through a Raghu Kumar goal ten minutes before the hooter.
Savio Alphonso and Kannan Priolkar found the target in the opening session to ensure three full points for the Goans,
who dominated the match at the near-vacant Lal Bahadur Shastri stadium.
The Goans, who were the runners-up in the last edition of the Games at Punjab, went into the attack form the beginning,
and drew first blood in the 21st minute, when Alphonso played a bout of wall passes with Joseph Pereira before slamming home from top of the box.
The insurance goal came seven minutes later and in an almost identical manner.
Wilfred Gomes received the ball near the half-line and struck up an instant combination with Prioyalkar, before the latter could find the mark.
Maharashtra, bronze medallists at Punjab, fought hard in the second-half and created some openings but failed to
reduce the margin.
They came tantalisingly close to scoring in the 79th minute, but S Jagano's shot hit the upright and ricocheted into
play.
The Goan side also got a chance to increase the lead a minute earlier, when Priolkar essayed a spectacular cross from
the right, only to find S Das shooting wide from close range.
Services, on the other hand, forced Bengal to fight for every inch of the turf, making the encounter an absorbing affair, as the ball constantly travelled from one end to the other.
Bengal went into the lead in the 35th minute when Services defender Ignatious was pulled up for handling the ball in the penalty box, and Biswas made no mistake in converting the resultant spot-kick.
Services upped the ante in the latter session in their quest for the equalizer, but were distinctly unlucky in the
56th minute when a Vikas Gurung shot banged against the bar.
The armymen finally restored parity as Bengal's Arunava Sarkar stopped a Pradeep Debnath shot with his hand inside the penalty box and referee Stephen Charles lost no time in pointing towards the dreaded spot.
Raghu Kumar scored, giving no chance to Bengal goalkeeper Prashanta Dora.
