Come-from-behind win keeps Goa alive

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:53 am
Romeo Fernandes' winner for Goa came in the dying seconds of the match.
Romeo Fernandes' winner for Goa came in the dying seconds of the match.
Vipin Pawar / ISL / SPORTZPICS

Romeo Fernandes scored in the 94th minute to clinch a 2-1 win for FC Goa over NorthEast United, their first at home this Indian Super League (ISL) season and the second in five games. Goa coach Zico also had goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani to thank for his seven saves in the game.

With seven players ruled out through injury and four suspended, the hosts had just four subs -- two of them goalkeepers -- on the bench. The lack of options for Zico meant there were nine Indians in the starting line-up, an ISL record.

NorthEast started the brighter of the two but Kattimani did well to save a Mailson Alves shot from close range, following a corner, in the third minute. NorthEast's Katsumi Yusa then took a powerful free-kick, but Kattimani was again on hand to punch it over.

It was one-way traffic for the first 30 minutes as Goa soaked in attack after attack, and the hosts were lucky to not have been awarded a penalty against them for a handball in the box in the 19th.

Goa almost broke the deadlock against the run of play in the 26th when Robin Singh played in Rafael Coelho through, but the Brazilian was flagged offside.

The strategy of running in behind the defenders almost paid off for Goa minutes later, with Trindade Goncalves playing in Robin with a perfectly weighted through ball, but the Indian striker's shot was parried away by keeper Subrata Pal.

In the 37th minute a Katsumi free-kick found the head of centre-back Gustavo Lazarreth who hit the crossbar. The loose ball was put back into the box and this time Alves' glancing header hit the bar and went for a goal kick.

Romeo Fernandes' winner for Goa came in the dying seconds of the match.
Romeo Fernandes' winner for Goa came in the dying seconds of the match.
Vipin Pawar / ISL / SPORTZPICS

Seityasen Singh broke the deadlock five minutes into the second half. Katsumi -- whose delivery from set-pieces was excellent throughout -- curled in a corner from the left. It was poorly cleared and Seityasen shot the loose ball with his left. The shot was headed to Kattimani's near post, but took a deflection off Trindade's hip and sailed into the left corner.

Goa seemed headed for their seventh loss of the season, their combined total in the first two seasons. Twelve minutes later Trindade played in Fernandes on the right flank with a well-timed lobbed pass. The winger beat his man and found Robin who side-footed the ball home from inside the box.

The goal was Robin's first of the season, and Goa's seventh this year. That last statistic points to how poorly Zico's men have played this year, considering they scored seven against Mumbai City alone last season, and ended the season as the highest-scoring side with 29 goals.

With two players sent off in the last game and four players suspended, Goa's disciplinary issues continued. Sahil Tavora was sent off after getting a second yellow for a foul on Seityasen in the 72nd.

The booking forced both managers to make tactical changes. While Zico replaced winger Mandar Rao Desai with centre-back Fulganco Cardozo, NorthEast coach Nelo Vingada brought off captain Didier Zokora for forward Sumeet Passi.

A tidal wave of NorthEast attacks followed, but it was Goa that came closest to scoring. Coelho put in an excellent low cross into the path of an onrushing Robin, but the forward's over-reliance on his left foot saw him completely miss the ball.

The game seemed destined for a draw, but Fernandes snatched it for Goa in the 94th. Robin made up for his earlier miss with an exquisite through ball and the Goa-born winger rounded the goalkeeper to poke the ball into the net.

The win may not have lifted Goa off the bottom of the table, but with four games to go it has given them a real chance of qualifying for the play-offs.