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A late injury time goal by Brison Fernandes saw FC Goa beat Bengaluru FC 1-0 in their Group D clash in the Kalinga Super Cup on Wednesday, January 17, 2024.
While the loss effectively knocked last season’s finalists Bengaluru FC out of the competition, FC Goa are sitting strong in the table with six points from two matches.
The game was marked by the lack of a cutting edge in both sides, evidenced by the dearth of chances in the first half. And when the chances did fall, they were squandered away. The first fell to Carlos Martinez, who volleyed towards goal from Noah Sadaoui’s brilliantly worked cross.
An acrobatic Sahil tipped the ball over the bar. Bengaluru FC were guilty of a glaring miss soon after, a mistake from Seriton Fernandes gifting Javi Hernandez the ball inside the box and a gaping goal to shoot at. He shot over the bar.
After an initial period of dominance, FC Goa lacked urgency in the second half and Bengaluru FC capitalised, pushing forward in numbers to create chances of their own.
Lalremtluanga’s shot from a Shivaldo Singh cutback was deflected off target and Carl McHugh was forced to clear off the line from the subsequent corner. Shivaldo, introduced as a substitute, continued to be the biggest positive for Bengaluru in their second half, the architect of their best moments.
And yet his teammates proved to remain ineffective and incapable of finishing off his chances. The last of those fell to Ashish Jha, who dinked over Dheeraj Singh after Shivaldo’s brilliant through ball had set him through on goal. His effort went wide.
Late in injury time FC Goa made to pay Bengaluru FC for their missed chances when Fernandes headed Muhammed Nemil’s cross from a tight angle into the far corner to spark the celebrations. For Bengaluru FC, the cup run is over.
