Odafa slams critics

Panaji: It’s not for nothing that Odafa Okolie is known as a special player. The highly competitive striker took the recent criticism punch – that he is not effective anymore – on the jaw and answered them with a double strike that earned Sporting Clube de Goa a stunning away win over Bengaluru FC, leaving nobody in doubt that he still has a voracious appetite for goals.
“There was pressure because someone started criticizing me too much and God started his work.For me, scoring is not important. For me, it’s important to win three points. If the team wins, and even if I don’t score, it’s excellent,” said Odafa.
Odafa’s two brilliant goals against Bengaluru FC was a timely reminder that love him or hate him, you just cannot ignore him.
Odafa scored in the opening game against East Bengal but went without scoring in the next three games against DSK Shivajians, Aizawl FC and Shillong Lajong, all bottom-half teams who the burly striker loves to dominate.
“Our players have displayed good character on the field. I have received good support up front and it happens in every department. We support each other throughout and that helps in achieving the team goal,” he said.
Sporting Clube de Goa stunned Bengaluru FC in their own ‘fortress’ despite being handicapped with the sending off of defender D Ravanan with a second bookable offence in the first half itself. Coach Mateus Costa credited the entire team for the stunning victory but, with respect to the team, Odafa’s ability to conjure-up goals from nowhere remained the highlight.