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Two late Diego Mauricio goals helped Odisha FC score a 2-2 comeback draw against Jamshedpur FC in the Indian Super League on Sunday afternoon.
Both teams set a good pace with an aim to get an early goal. Jamshedpur got their first successful attack in the very first minute with Alex cutting through the Odisha defence smoothly but the pass went straight into the keeper’s hand. A bad tackle from behind from Onwu to Eze led to the game’s first foul. The Red Miners kept the pace high as they rained continuous attacks; they steadily kept the ball possession to their side. A cheeky pull and a tackle on Isaac led to Jamshedpur FC’s freekick near the right corner as Valskis got his head on the ball. Unfortunately, Odisha FC defended it well.
The Red Miners then received a corner and Eze headed the ball but got saved by the defence. Valskis again attempted at a goal but the ball unintentionally met the defender’s hand inside the box. Jamshedpur FC got rewarded with a penalty shot by the referee without a second thought and Valskis stepped up to the occasion. He easily netted the ball into the left corner thus giving Jamshedpur FC an early lead that the team desperately aimed for since minute 1.
After an early goal conceded by Odisha FC, they kept the ball possession to their side with some quick tiki-taka around the field. The game calmed down after a couple of minutes as Jamshedpur FC focused more on the defence to keep the ball out of the box. Then, a bad attempt by an Odisha FC defender to head the ball away from the box, led it to Valskis instead and he seized the opportunity again, giving Jamshedpur FC their second goal in the first half with a clean finish into the left corner.
After a very entertaining first half, both the teams kicked off the second half aggressively as a number of rough tackles were committed. Odisha FC switched to a more attacking style of play with the hope of getting back into the game. They came back stronger as they tested Jamshedpur FC’s defence with a barrage of attacks from all sides but eventually failed to convert those chances into goals. Odisha FC almost scored their opener as Onwu attempted to score with an overhead kick after a beautiful first touch on the ball, but Rehenesh punched the ball away from the goal with a quick dive. Opportunities were created by both the teams in the second half as Jamshedpur FC looked to seal the game with a clear win and Odisha looked to get back into the game.
The opposition took their game up a notch as they dominated the field with all the stats on their side. Later, a confusion occurred in the Jamshedpur FC box as the Juggernauts initiated an attack but Rehenesh came in to intercept and got his hand on the ball while he was outside the penalty box. The Jamshedpur FC goalie, unfortunately, got sent off by the official which brought the Red Miners into a tough spot as they came down to 10 men.
With the advantage of an extra man on their side, the Kalinga warriors went all-out with their set piece as they were awarded a freekick right outside the penalty box. Momentum turned towards Odisha FC’s side and they made the most out of that chance. Super sub, Diego Mauricio, stepped up, tapped the ball into the net and finally scored Odisha FC’s opening goal which brought them back into the match.
The game heated up even more as players from both teams desperately tried one up each other for a clean win. The referee added a total of 6 extra minutes to the match with the score being 2-1. Odisha FC continued to aim for a draw out of this fixture with Jamshedpur FC being one man down and then they turned the game around. Diego took a powerful shot from the edge of the box and scored a stunner. The ball flew right into the top right corner while Pawan Kumar was unable to get his hands on the ball. This brought the team to level as the score turned 2-2 around the 93rd minute of the stoppage time.
In the end, it was an action-packed fixture for both the teams as they showed their passion and gave their all to get the three points from the second fixture, but, they shared the spoils and walked out with one point instead. Nonetheless, Tilak Maidan witnessed a thrilling draw tonight.
