Arunava about Football A look at football & the world through my eyes!
Related Articles
FC Goa recorded their first win of ISL-7 on Sunday night at the Fatorda, recording a 3-1 win over Kerala Blasters. A brace from Igor Angulo was accompanied by Jorge Ortiz’s first strike in the ISL to help the Gaurs clinch their first three points.
Juan Ferrando rang in two changes for the game. James Donachie stepped back into the backline in place of Aibanbha Dohling. Meanwhile, Alexander Romario Jesuraj was handed his first ISL start, coming in place of Alberto Noguera.
The Gaurs started off on the front foot yet again in the game. It was Jorge Ortiz with the first shot on goal in the 10th minute. The Spaniard wrestled out Nishu Kumar before lashing a shot on goal from 35 yards out. The shot had Albino Gomes in the Kerala goal beaten, but the crossbar denied the Men In Orange their opener.
The frame of the goal yet again came to the rescue of the Blasters seven minutes later. Igor Angulo was at the right spot at the right moment to intercept Rohit Kumar’s erroneous pass to put himself one on one with the keeper. The Spaniard opened his body and slotted it past the keeper but the shot came off the upright to Kerala’s delight.
Angulo, however, wouldn’t be denied his fourth of the season for much longer. A good build-up down the left saw Edu Bedia find Saviour Gama in an advanced position. The left-back looked up to find Angulo making another of his trademark runs. Gama’s chipped ball found the striker in stride and the 36-year-old once again showed his class with a delightful lob to get the better of onrushing Albino Gomes.
The Gaurs kept the pedal to the metal but had to settle for a 1-0 lead going into half-time.
FC Goa came out hotter of the two teams to begin the second half as well, in search of a second. A swift counter-attack saw Ortiz combine well with Romario. The duo played well between themselves to help the Spaniard into a good position on the right. His cross though was deflected, forcing Gomes into palming the ball over for a corner.
And it didn’t take long for the Gaurs to find their second. Intricate play at the middle of the pitch helped Brandon find some space. The midfielder dummied a shot from distance before finding an onrushing Ortiz from the left. The Spaniard took two touches before slamming it across the keeper to give Goa a 2 goal lead in the 52nd minute.
Kerala Blasters came closest to scoring after the break when Vicente Gómez found time and space to unleash a shot from the edge of the box but saw his effort come rattling back off the crossbar.
Vicente Gomez scored Kerala Blasters’ first goal from open play this season in the 90th minute of the game to halve the deficit. Their hopes of a comeback though took a big hit the very next minute when Costa was shown a red for a rash tackle on Princeton Rebello.
The Gaurs finished off the job in the 94th minute of the game when Angulo struck his fifth of the campaign. The veteran took advantage of Albino Gomes’ lapse in concentration to tuck away his second of the game.
The win sees FC Goa jump to fourth on the table with five points from four games. Angulo’s brace meanwhile extends his lead at the top for the ISL Golden Boot.
The Gaurs will be back in action on December 12, when they take on Odisha FC. The game is slated for a 7:30pm IST kickoff.
