Jamshedpur FC ended FC Goa's unbeaten start to the season with a 1-0 win at the Fatorda Stadium on Tuesday, propelling itself up to second on the ISL table, behind ATK on goal difference.
Sportstar looks at the key facets of an eventful match in Goa.
Sergio Castel the difference-maker for Jamshedpur FC, again
With his goal against FC Goa, Sergio Castel has now single-handedly helped Jamshedpur secure the three points for the second time this season. He is ISL's top goal-scorer with four goals, but importantly, two of those have contributed to Jamshedpur winning two of its five matches (against Odisha FC and Goa). The win on Tuesday propelled Jamshedpur up to second on the ISL table with three wins, one draw and a defeat, and Castel's goal-scoring exploits have been central to the team's early impetus.
Castel scored with one of his two shots during the 90 minutes and he also created two quality chances, one for C.K. Vineeth and another for substitute Mobashir Rahman.
FC Goa fails to make home advantage count
These are early days in the season, but Sergio Lobera's men have failed to win their last two home fixtures, drawing 1-1 with Bengaluru FC thanks to Ferran Corominas's stoppage-time penalty and losing to Jamshedpur FC on Tuesday.
Against Jamshedpur, it dominated the passing and possession statistics, and had more than double the number of goal attempts (20) the visiting side had (8). Yet, Subrata Paul, in the Jamshedpur goal, was only sporadically tested and, in the absence of the injured Corominas and the suspended Hugo Boumous, the home side lacked composure in the crucial moments.
Lobera would like to think the performance against Jamshedpur is not much more than an aberration.
Needless fouling from FC Goa
Goa players committed needless fouls right throughout the match and Ahmed Jahouh's sending off - for a lunge from behind on Jamshedpur's Noe Acosta - midway through the second half was the culmination of some of the home team's dangerous play. Only ATK has committed more fouls (78) than Goa's players (76) this season and for a team of Goa's quality, the last thing it needs is to have influential players like Boumous and Jahouh getting suspended and sitting out matches.
Did FC Goa miss Corominas?
Creating chances wasn't the issue for FC Goa against Jamshedpur, but you could attribute the failure to convert those chances to Corominas's absence and the resulting lack of presence in the box for the home team. The triumvirate of Brandon Fernandes, Edu Bedia and Jackichand Singh created a combined eight chances (of the 10 overall), and were heavily involved in the build-up play.
Bedia alone had seven attempts on goal, but importantly, only one of those was on target, rushing Subrata Paul into a save. Jackichand was a constant menace on the Jamshedpur left, his nimble feet and quick turn of pace getting the better of Narender Gahlot, one of Jamshedpur's debutants, time and again. Jackichand also had chances to score but it was his crosses into the box that posed a greater threat. On the night, Goa needed a presence in the box to meet some of Jackichand's crosses from the right flank.
Corominas would have given Goa a focal point, while his movement and ability to sniff opportunities could have helped convert the chances that Bedia, Brandon and Jackichand created.
Farukh Choudhary makes his presence felt
Jamshedpur found joy down Goa's left in the first half and it was the source of Castel's goal in the 17th minute too. Farukh exploited the space left by Mandar Rao Desai and picked out Castel with a nicely-weighted cross, though the Spanish forward had to improvise to get his shot away. Farukh was heavily involved in Jamshedpur's attacking play and would create one more chance before half-time and before being replaced by Sumeet Passi at the start of the second half.
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