FC Goa 4-1 Chennaiyin FC Highlights: Gaurs thrash Marina Machans to enter Durand Cup 2023 semifinals

FC Goa turned this contest into a goal-fest in the last few minutes of the game, finishing the game with a 4-1 scoreline and making it through to the semifinals where it will face either Mumbai City FC or Mohun Bagan Super Giant.

Goa goes for another counter attack with Boris marching into the final third. He crosses for Victor on his left, who beats his marker, Jiteshwor, and shoots to score Goa’s fourth and his first in this match.

Carl McHugh floats in a cross Noah Sadaoui, who chests the ball first and then buries it into the net with a right-footed hit. That almost ends the competition and Goa can sense a place in the semis.

Set-piece opportunity for Chennaiyin! Jiteshwor Singh, once an emerging player in the I-League, whips in a right-footed curler which is headed out of danger by Jhingan.

Goa attacks on the counter with Boris making a run into the final third. Noah runs for cover on his left and the former Jamshedpur FC midfielder tries to set up the No. 7. However, Ajith tracks back on time to deny a chance for the Gaurs to punish the team further.

Manolo Marquez has a reputation of preparing a side to defend slender margins. Under his tutelage, prominent Indian national team defenders Akash Mishra, Nikhil Poojary, Asish Rai and Chinglesnsana Singh have improved drastically.

Sangwan takes the free-kick for Chennaiyin just outside the box - another left-footed curler. This time, he keeps the shot on target and Dheeraj punches it out of play for a Goa corner kick. That set-piece opportunity ends to nothing as the low curler is cleared out of danger by Goa.

Chennaiyin FC tries to attack on the counter with Ayush carrying the ball along the left flank and crossing for Conor Shields. Dheeraj, however, makes an interception to deny a certain chance for the Marina Machans to equalise.

In: Boris Singh, Victor Rodriguez , Out: Udanta Singh, Carlos Martinez

In: Irfan Yadwad, Out: Farukh Chaudhary

Chennaiyin attacks from the set-piece, with Jiteshwor Singh crossing for Jordan Murray who heads the ball on target. But Dheeraj pulls off a brilliant reflex save to push the ball away. Meanwhile, Murray is checked for a concussion and is given a head gear to avoid head injuries.

Goa continues to look for spaces along either flank as Chennaiyin looks to draw FCG to attack on the counter. And it works with Jay Gupta failing to keep track of Vincy Barretto’s pace, who marauds into the final third but the attacks fizzles out after Goa gets back possession in the box.

Meanwhile, Bikash Yumnam, the lone goalscorer for Chennaiyin tonight looks to have hurt his knee or ankle in a bid to stop Sandesh Jhingan during the free-kick. CFC makes a forced change as Alex Romario replaces Bikash.

In: Jay Gupta, Rowllin Borges , Out: Saviour Gama, Raynier Fernandes

Goa gets a free-kick after Noah Sadaoui is fouled. Brandon sets up Jhingan from the free-kick and the Indian national team defender jums to get his head to it but fails to keep it on target.

The tale of Chennaiyin in this game looks to be the same in either half. The Marina Machans started on the attack early on and found the net in the first-half. Despite coming close in the second half, it has failed to find an equaliser as Goa remains in front in this quartefinal fixture.

Sangwan takes the free-kick - a left-footed curler which flies over the net. And now CFC makes two changes.

In: Vincy Barreto, Jiteshwor Singh, Out: Rahim Ali,Cristian Battocchio

Jordan Murray tries to march into the final third but Saviour Gama of FC Goa gets to him and pulls him don to get the first booking of the match. Yellow card for Gama.

Carlos Martinez gets a lobbed cross up for Noah, who just misses it on the flight as Goa fails to widen its lead furthe. For CFC, a one-goal margin keeps it well into the game.

Chennaiyin has started the second half with quick attacks. Murray, Shields and Farukh combine in the final third with Farukh failing to make the most of it after a one-two with Murray. Seconds later, Shields comes close to scoing but is ruled off-side.

Chennaiyin tries an attack with a through ball which is carried into the box by Shields but his cross for Rahim Ali is intercepted right on time by Goa for a corner kick. The corner is also cleared by the Gaurs.

For the people who have come to the blog right now, Martinez and McHugh scored the two goals for Goa after Bikash put Chennaiyin in front, initially. Owen Coyle, CFC’s head coach is missing in the technical area as he is facing a suspension with Stewart working as his deputy tonight.

The players take the field as Chennaiyin looks to complete a turnaround. It replaces Sachu with Ajith at half-time. Jordan Murray gets the ball rolling after the break.

Goals from Carlos Martinez and Carl McHugh have helped the Gaurs remain in the driving seat after they were caught napping in the fifth minute. Bikash Yumnam was the goalscorer for the Marina Machans.

Noah Sadaoui makes a run along the left flank, cuts back to set up Brandon and Martinez. But Chennayin has enough men in its box to contain that problem as it clears the ball away.

Chennaiyin tries to orchestrate attacks using through balls but the one from Battocchio fails to find a recipient as the ball rolls on to Dheeraj.

Moment of worry for Gaurs! Their captain Brandon Fernandes is down on the ground gasping for breath as the medical team of FCG attends to him. He eventually gets back on his feet.

Udanta sets up Carlos Martinez in the box. His first shot is blocked by Chennayin but the second time, he lobs in a shot that dips after beating Samik Mitra, into the net. And FC Goa is ahead.

Goa has put its foot on the gas, playing square passes, maintaining possession and building up slowly. Meanwhile, Aakash Sangwan takes possession of the ball and tries to set up Shields, but McHugh clears the ball away.

Udanta and Noah combine again. This time Udanta’s cross from the right is met by Noah with his head but he fails to find the target with the header.

Udanta delivers a cross from the right which is the headed by Noah on the left, serving the opportunity on a plate for Carl McHugh, who made his Goa debut today. The former Mohun Bagan player shoots into the net to make it all square at the half-hour mark.

The corner y Shields, however, fails to find any receiver as the right-footed curler goes out of play for a Goa goal-kick.

Rahim Ali makes a quick run to get to a long ball on the left flank. He beats his marker but his cross is intercepted and cleared for a CFC corner by Jhingan.

Brandon pulls down Ayush as the CFC player was looking to make a run. He narrowly escapes a card and Bikash takes the free-kick quickly.

Goa gets another free-kick and Brandon whips it into the box for Jhingan this time. However, the Blue Wall intercepts and clears it out of danger. Seconds later, Noah’s cross from the left for Martinez is again intercepted by Chennaiyin, which is doing its defensive duties quite judiciously.

Chennaiyin finds Goa keeping a compact defence ready to stop attack at the edge of the box and so, Ayush tries a shot from distance. However, there is no force or direction in it as the ball goes out for a Goa goal-kick.

FC Goa’s free-kick reaches Noah, who looks up for a cross in the centre. Jhingan asks for the cross but Noah crosses it to Martinez who fails to get to it and CFC gets back possession of the ball.

FC Goa is looking to absorb the pressure and starts building from the back. It was rattled initially after an early goal by Bikash but has clawed back into the game.

Seriton gets he ball into the final third along the right flank and crosses for Martinez in the centre. However, Sarthak, who recently moved to CFC from East Bengal, intercepts and heads it away.

Brandon delivers a diagonal low-pass for Martinez, who beats his marker with a turn and passes to Udanta on his right. The former Bengaluru FC winger, however, fails to keep the shot on target.

Noah Sadaoui starts asking questions in the final third. He makes a run along the left flank, cross for Martinez, whose header comes off the post. Seconds later, Sadaoui gets the ball back and threads in a low through ball which Martinez just misses.

Chennaiyin has looked in impressive form this season, especially with Jordan Murray in front. Our reporter Aneesh Dey caight up with him and this is what he had to say:

Bikash Yumnam punishes FC Goa from the first set-piece situation for Chennaiyin. The corner is floated in from the left by Aakash and CFC’s No. 33 gets his head to it to get the Marina Machans ahead.

Farukh Choudhary tries to stifle Brandon Fernandes’ run. The FC Goa captain is one of the many first-team players included in the Durand Cup squad of the Gaurs and he has looked very good in the tournament so far.

It will be an interseting match-up for Gouramangi Singh, the coach of FC Goa, who has previously played for Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League. For Coyle, on the other hand, this will be yet another opportunity to solidify his string return to Indian football.

Brandon Fernandes, the Goa captain gets the ball rolling. Both Goa and Chennayin are starting with a 4-2-3-1 formation.

The Durand Cup quarterfinal between Chennaiyin FC and FC Goa is underway. Chennaiyin, in blue, starts from right to left while Goa, in white, starts from the other side.

The players of both sides are warming up for the final time before the kick-off as fans eventually make their way into the stadium. Noah Sadaoui will be the point of attraction for the Gaurs, who are loooking for a new start under head coach Manolo Marquez.

The Durand Cup 2022 winner FC Goa will look to continue its hunt for a second title when it plays Chennaiyin FC in the quarterfinal of this edition at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium in Guwahati on Saturday.

Both Chennaiyin coach Owen Coyle and the Gaurs’ Manolo Marquez are in the midst of establishing new squads and formations but have still managed to showcase attractive and effective football in the tournament.

The Marina Machans have scored nine times and conceded twice, while the Gaurs have conceded the same number, scoring 11 in return. While Chennaiyin has majorly overhauled its attack this year, Marquez has looked for more solidity in defence and midfield, with his new setup.

New signings, like Jordan Murray, Rafael Crivellaro and Farukh Chowdhury for Chennaiyin and Sandesh Jhingan, Odei Oneindia and Rowllin Borges for the Gaurs, have settled down well and an absorbing battle is on the cards.

In a pre-match chat, Goa captain Brandon Fernandez said, “We’ve had a good start to the season, and that has helped in building our confidence as well. We’d now like to keep this going, and head to the ISL on a strong note.”

“Chennaiyin FC presents us with our toughest test so far in the ongoing Durand Cup. They did well in the group stage and are in good form. We had a good outing during our group stage as well, but we could have been better in terms of performance, both defensively and in terms of attacking.”

“That said, we’re confident in ourselves and can bring our a-game to the pitch tomorrow. We aim for nothing less than a win, and will give it our all.”

The winner of this quarterfinal will face either Mumbai City FC or Mohun Bagan Super Giant, who will lock horns tomorrow. The match between Goa and Chennaiyin is scheduled to kick-off at 6pm.