FC Goa registered a hard-fought 2-0 victory over NorthEast United FC at home on Wednesday to open up a three-point gap at the top of the 2019-20 ISL standings.
However, second-placed ATK FC has a game in hand. Ghana star Asamoah Gyan was ruled out due to injury, thereby denting NorthEast's chances even before the match began.
A silly blunder from the visiting side's goalkeeper Pawan Kumar led to Goa's opening goal, an own goal by Miroslav Komorski. The second goal was a Ferran Corominas penalty after he was brought down by Jose Leudo, who was red-carded for the tackle on Coro.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS | Goa vs NorthEast United, Coro scores and Leudo sent off
Find below the key talking points of the outing in Goa:
- NorthEast's defence was calm and composed for over 60 minutes -
FC Goa dominated most of the game, with NorthEast creating chances at times. The back four of Komorski, Leudo, Reagan Singh and Rakesh Pradhan stayed organised and worked well together. NorthEast shot-stopper Pawan Kumar too had a great game, denying the likes of Jackichand Singh, Brandon Fernandes, Corominas and Hugo Boumous a goal, time and again. However, a moment of unawareness cost NorthEast a valuable point.
- Pawan Kumar's moment of misery -
Despite all the hard work by the NorthEast defence for 67 minutes, a silly dive by keeper Pawan gifted Goa its first goal. The home team was frustrated for most of the match and was unable to get past the visitor's wall. Finally, in the 68th minute, a Jackichand cross was blocked by Komorski who executed a sliding tackle. The ball headed towards Pawan and it seemed like a straightforward save for the custodian. However, he dived on the ball instead of keeping his hands behind it and gifted a frustrated team its opener.
READ | FC Goa 2 - 0 NorthEast United FC - Match Report
- Coro becomes top-scorer, Leudo sent off -
NorthEast centre-back Jose Leudo was one of his sides best players on the night. But his mistake led to Goa's second goal and he was penalised for it as well. Corominas received the ball close to the box and he got past Leudo, who looked very tired. In a desperate attempt to stop Coro from scoring, Leudo pulled the Goa forward from the back to concede a penalty and receive a straight card. Coro himself took the spot-kick and found the back of the net, thereby claiming his eighth goal of the tournament. He is tied with ATK's Roy Krishna as the leading goal-scorer of ISL 2019-20 right now.
- Brandon Fernandes dives to miss the ATK game -
There were around four Goa players who were one yellow card away from a one-game suspension. Despite the next match against ATK being a crucial tie — considering the standings of both teams in the league — FC Goa head coach Sergio Lobera risked all four players. However, a silly dive from Brandon ruined his manager's night. Brandon was eventually yellow carded and will now miss the Goa-ATK match in Kolkata on the 18th. On the other hand, NorthEast gaffer Robert Jarni would be hoping that Gyan's injury isn't a serious one.
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