Riding on Fabio Dos Passos' solo effort in the first half, Salgaocar edged past Vasco by a solitary goal to earn full points a 16th round match in the National Football League, in Margao, Goa, on Thursday.
Salgaocar held territorial advantage in the first half and created more scoring chances. Fabio Passos, who played upfront along with Felix Ibrebru, missed a couple of chances but made amends in the 35th minute when he ran solo from the half-line, beat defender Kamal Thapa and on entering the box got past onrushing 'keeper Virender Singh before placing the ball into the empty net.
Vasco stepped up their game several notches and showed signs of a comeback in the second half but Alex Ambrose failed to find the target when ideally placed.
However, Vasco did not give up and tried hard to level the score in the last quarter. They also earned a penalty in the 81st minute when Prashant Jaggi brought down Fabio Soares inside the box. But Fabio, who took the penalty, failed to score, his shot hitting the post.
With this win, Salgaocar, who are in seventh position, took their tally to 19 points from 16 matches while Vasco pushed themselves on the brink of relegation. They placed 11th with 13 points from as many matches.
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