It was a tale of two halves, a rollercoaster of emotions, and a thrilling fightback for Goa as they held Arunachal Pradesh to a pulsating 3-3 draw in their opening match of the Santosh Trophy final round. Played amidst the electrifying atmosphere of Arunachal Pradesh, the game had everything - flowing attacks, defensive grit, and goals galore.

Goa started with their characteristic attacking swagger. Faheez and Necio Fernandes were a constant thorn in the side of the Arunachal defense, and it was no surprise when Necio nodded home a Faheez cross in the 20th minute to send the Goan fans into a frenzy. Earler, Goa’s Shridharan’s shot brushed off the post.

But the joy was short-lived as Arunachal Pradesh hit back with a well-worked header from Rahul Goju Singpho just four minutes later.

The game ebbed and flowed, with both sides creating chances but failing to convert. Goa started brightly and Clencio Pinto who came on for Delton at half time had a shot on goal soon after restart forcing AP keeper to come up with a fine save.

The Goan faithful were left stunned in the 62nd minute when a penalty was awarded to the hosts, and Tame Agung calmly converted to put Arunachal ahead.

Just when it seemed like the game was slipping away, Goa's fighting spirit came to the fore. The ever-dangerous Faheez produced a moment of magic, lobbing the Arunachal keeper from distance to level the scores. The Goan team didn't stop there. Substitute Joshua D'Silva turned provider, setting up Laximanrao Rane whose shot was parried, but D'Silva pounced on the rebound to put Goa back in the lead.

The Goan fort, however, was breached once again in dramatic fashion. Deep into injury time, Singpho rose high to meet a looping cross and head home the equalizer, sending the home crowd into delirium.