It was FC Goa's all-out attacking approach that did the magic as The Gaurs coasted to a commanding 3-1 win over Chennaiyin FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Saturday.
Goals from Edu Bedia and second-half strikes from Ferran Corominas and Mourtada Fall helped Goa claim its first win of the fifth edition of the Indian Super League.
FC Goa coach Sergio Lobera had said in the pre-match conference that his side was built to play attacking football and his boys did just that. After a string of neat passes in the opening 10 minutes, Bedia put Goa ahead in the 12th minute in clinical fashion. A Goan corner was played short to Lenny Rodrigues, who fired a low cross towards Bedia. The Spaniard struck a fine first-time attempt, which clipped Fransico Fernandes' heels and found the right bottom corner.
The home side searched hard and wide for the equaliser but struggled to find any form of fluidity up front. Goa continued to surge ahead and one such move saw Lenny being brought down by Germanpreet Singh at the edge of the box. Chennaiyin captain Mailson Alves and Goa's Hugo Boumous got into an unwarranted scuffle and both went into the referee Rowan Arumughan's book.
Anirudh Thapa seemed to have won Chennaiyin a penalty in the 31st minute – much to the sparsely crowded stadium's delight – but it proved to be a false alarm. Thapa played a lovely one-two with Nelson in the Goan box and took to the ground with the slightest of touches from Chinglensana Singh. The referee saw no penalty and awarded a goal kick, but curiously didn't book Thapa for play-acting.
Chennaiyin's best attempt of the opening half came in the 41st minute. Raphael Augusto won the ball in midfield and played it on to Nelson. The Dutch winger raced ahead and dodged his way past two defenders to unleash a ferocious low drive that streaked past the goal by a mere whisker.
Goa went into the lemon break with a solitary goal lead but doubled it within eight minutes of the restart. Boumous sent a long throw into the box towards Seriton Fernandes, who caught the Chennaiyin defence napping. He crafted a cross from the right that sailed past an onlooking Jerry Lalrinzuala and a clueless Alves to an unmarked Ferran Corominas, who emphatically slotted the ball home with ease.
Augusto had a brilliant chance to reduce the deficit in the 69th minute but botched the opportunity. Inigo Calderon's throw into the box wasn't dealt with and the clearance went only as far Augusto, who had the goal at his mercy. The Brazilian, however, blazed his attempt well above the goal.
Senegalese defender Mourtada Fall, playing his second ISL match, put the tie beyond doubt when he found the back of the net in the 80th minute. Ahmed Jahouh floated a cross into the 12-yard box and Corominas flicked the ball into Fall's path, who's looping header soared past Karanjit Singh and into the goal.
Goa's 18-year-old goalkeeper Mohammad Nawaz, who was rarely tested by the Chennaiyin attack, pulled off a fine save in the dying stages of the game. Carlos Salom struck a thunderous free-kick and an alert Nawaz made a sharp save to keep his side's lead intact.
Chennaiyin did manage to find a goal in the last minuted of added time from Eli Sabia. The Brazilian leaped above the Goan defence to head in Andrea Orlandi's corner and head in his maiden ISL goal. It, however, proved to be inconsequential as Goa was undoubtedly the better side on the evening and deservingly pocketed all three points on offer.
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