ISL 2021-22: Late Romario strike helps FC Goa draw with Odisha

Faheem Hussain/Focus Sports/ ISL

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Odisha FC suffered a blow in their quest for play-offs qualification after they were held to a 1-1 draw by FC Goa in Bambolim on Tuesday. Goals from Jonathas (61' penalty) and a last-minute equaliser from FC Goa striker Romario (90'+5') meant that neither team would take away three points.

The result prevents Odisha from rising to fifth place in the standings, level on points with Bengaluru FC and Kerala Blasters FC. As for FC Goa, the winless run extends to five games.

FC Goa dominated most of the first half, but struggled to convert possession into clear cut goalscoring opportunities. Airam Cabrera got space behind Odisha defence at the first quarter of the hour but ended up shooting above the cross-bar. At the other end, Liridon Krasniqi missed a great opportunity to score owing to brave goalkeeping from Naveen Kumar, who charged forward to close the gap. Arshdeep Singh also had to pull off a strong save from Edu Bedia right after the drinks break. Princeton Rebello thought he had scored at the 40th-minute mark until Thoiba Singh made a goal-saving block inside the box.

After the restart, Aridai demanded a penalty for a potential handball but to no avail. The striker got his shot past the goalkeeper but saw it blocked by Anwar Ali. However, right at the hour mark, they were awarded a penalty after Javier Hernandez was tripped by Alberto Noguera inside the box. Jonathas stepped up and sent his spot-kick into the top left corner for the breakthrough goal.

A few minutes later, Jerry Mawihmingthanga came close to extending Odisha's lead but his chip hit the crossbar.

Derrick Pereira made several changes heading into the last stage of the match, pushing for the equaliser.

Four minutes were added for stoppages which saw more pressure from Goa, looking for that elusive equaliser. It finally came through Romario who headed in a sublime Cabrera cross in the final minute of added time.