Jofre penalty gives Goa first point of the season

ISL

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A 77th-minute penalty kick from Jofre Gonzalez helped FC Goa come back from a goal down and earn their first point of the season, following a 1-1 draw against Atletico de Kolkata at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium.

Kolkata took the lead in the sixth minute through Sameehg Doutie, who scored one of the goals of the tournament with a sumptuous volley, before Jofre equalized deep into the second half after Borja Fernandez was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the box. 

The game was played at a fast and frantic pace, and was made ugly in the second half after both teams were reduced to 10 men, following red cards for Stephen Pearson and Sanjay Balmuchu. Nonetheless, ATK maintained their unbeaten start to the season and have now moved up to third in the table; Goa are still at the bottom. 

Goa started with Robin Singh upfront together with Jofre and Rafael Coelho, with Reinaldo given a break. ATK meanwhile bought in Pearson in the starting XI for his first start of the season.

ATK started the match on the front foot, as in the sixth minute, Javi Lara's dangerous cross from the right was headed back into the box by Iain Hume. The ball took a slight deflection and fell kindly to Doutie, who volleyed with the outside of his right foot to give the home side the lead.

Goa responded well with two chances in the next 10 minutes from which they should have equalised. First, Jofre's run into the box was misjudged by Coelho, who was free on the right but failed to square the ball to his strike partner. Three minutes later, Trindade Goncalves was put through with only the goalkeeper to beat, but his chipped effort was well saved by Debjit Majumder.

Chances for ATK were few and far between, but Pearson should have probably doubled the hosts' advantage, when in the 37th minute, he got on the end of a cross, but decided to head at goal instead of taking a touch and shooting with his foot. Trindade and Robin Singh both had further shots on goal, but it was ATK who went into the break with a slender lead.

The second half was marred by ugly tackles and controversial refereeing decisions. Seven minutes into the second half, Pearson lunged into Trindade, and the referee gave him a straight red; replays suggested the decision was harsh. 

ATK, however, despite being a man down, kept possession and kept asking questions to Goa's defence. Lara, in the 58th minute, came close to making it 2-0 to the home side when his free-kick from the edge of the penalty area almost found the top corner, only for Subhashish Roy Chowdhury to tip the ball over the bar. 

Goa's man advantage lasted for just seven minutes, as Balmuchu was also sent off after picking up two yellows in quick succession. The referee had no choice but to send him off after a reckless tackle on Abinash Ruidas.

Goa's coach Zico looked to bring more pace on his flanks by bringing on Romeo Fernandes and Mandar Rao Desai in place of Robin Singh and Keenan Almeida, but the two substitutes were unable to make any impact.  

Goa had a chance to win it late on when their third substitute, Julio Cesar, put in a dangerous cross from the left, but the ball was just out of an onrushing Jofre's reach. 

The final few minutes were tense, with both sides looking for a priceless winner, but the scoreline remained intact.