FC Goa completed their 50th clean sheet in the tournament and continued their fine form by edging out Kerala Blasters FC 1-0 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi in the 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) season on Thursday. It was a very secretive match between the two teams as neither gave an inch to their opponent. It was an interesting battle in midfield with Kerala Blasters favoring their home-grown talents, Vibin Mohanan and Freddie Lallavmava, over the Carl McHugh-led FC Goa midfield.
The first opportunity of the game fell to Iker Guarrocena as the Spaniard hit the post with a well-placed free-kick. It came straight from the training ground and caught the opposing defenders by surprise. However, the ball was deflected off the far post when Sachin Suresh was completely smashed between the sticks.
In the 30th minute, the Gaurs were relentless in attack and their persistence eventually paid off when Sahil Tavora found Boris Singh on the right flank with acres of space. The winger tried his luck from a narrow angle and to everyone’s surprise, Sachin Suresh was unable to parry the ball and ended up conceding in the 40th minute.
It was a difficult first season for Mikael Star, with his team losing points due to several individual mistakes. One such incident occurred today when Sachin Suresh got confused in his lines in what was otherwise a very routine save. The goal now gave Goa the lead at the break, allowing the visitors to dictate terms in the second period.
The Gaurs started the second half the same way they finished the first. They nearly doubled their lead when Dejan Dražić found himself behind the Blasters’ defensive line on a fast break. He squeezed past Pritam Kotal but was eventually denied by Sachin Suresh.
As Manolo Marquez’s men pressed ahead, Stare decided to shake things up by making a massive change in the 56th minute. He brought in players like Kwame Peprah, Koru Singh and Sandeep Singh, replacing Jesus Jimenez, Rahul K.P. and Pritam Kotal respectively.
Peprah quickly cleared the blocks with a brilliant diagonal pass to Noah Sadaoui. However, the Moroccan’s last ball, aimed towards the Moon, was skillfully blocked by Akash Sangwan. It was the hosts’ spell between them, but the likes of Odey Onandia and Sandesh Jhingan held their fort with aplomb.
In the 84th minute, Manolo started making changes, bringing on the trio of Armando Sadiku, Borja Herrera and Udanta Singh to freshen up the visitors’ game. The FC Goa defenders were again called into action by young Koru, who fired two shots at goal in quick succession, but both times the ball missed. The youngster had a golden opportunity to equalize on the first occasion but was thwarted by a great block from Jhingan, who threw his body onto the line to preserve the Gaurs’ lead.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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