On a night of Indian Super League football, FC Goa managed to end Bengaluru FC’s play-off hopes with a 2-1 win on Sunday. Goa took the lead in the first half through goals from Igor Angulo and Redeem Tlang before Suresh Wangjam managed to find a consolation goal for the blues ten minutes later. Elsewhere, Kerala Blasters were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by Chennaiyin FC in the South Indian derby. Fatkhulo Fatkhulloev’s early lead for Chennaiyin FC was cancelled out by a penalty from Gary Hooper in the 29th minute of the game.
FC GOA VS BENGALURU FC
Bengaluru FC’s chances of sealing a spot in the semifinal come to an end as they failed to stop FC Goa in a 2-1 thriller early on Sunday. FC Goa, who are unbeaten in their last 12 games are now firmly in the title race.
Goa deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation with Edu Bedia returning into the starting lineup. Meanwhile, Bengaluru FC were set up in a 4-4-2 formation to provide maximum options for Chhetri.
BFC started the game brightly with FC Goa goalkeeper Dheeraj making an early error which created an opening for BFC. Meanwhile, Redeem Tlang found more space on the wing in his second start of the season. The first breakthrough of the game came in the 14th minute for FC Goa after Noguera’s curling freekick was turned away by Gurpreet Singh. Both teams failed to dominate until FC Goa went 1-0 up through Angulo in the 20th minute.
Glan Martins dispossessed Eric Paartalu just outside the BFC box and Angulo got hold of the ball before slotting it past the goalkeeper. BFC’s sloppy defence continued to falter under Goa’s intense pressure. Goa similarly managed to find another goal 2 minutes later after BFC failed to clear the ball in time. Redeem Tlang who was on the receiving end smashed the ball past Gurpreet to make it 2-0 for FC Goa.
Ten minutes later, BFC managed to find what proved to be a consolation goal through Suresh Wangjam. A brilliant dribble down the left-wing followed by a powerful finish was too much for the FC Goa goalkeeper Dheeraj. Goa created a few good chances throughout the match with Gurpreet making crucial saves to deny Ishan Pandita and Mohamed Ali in the second half. Xisco Hernandez’s effort late on in the first half rattled off the crossbar for BFC.
KERALA BLASTERS VS CHENNAIYIN FC
Chennaiyin FC’s last match of this season ended in a 1-1 draw against Kerala Blasters at the GMC Stadium on Sunday. The two-time champions struggled to deal with their early advantage giving away a penalty in the 29th minute. Chennai has thus finished a disappointing season with 20 points to remain 8th in the table. Whereas for Kerala, who are without a win in their last six games sacked their manager Kibu Vicuna earlier this week and was replaced by Ishaq Ahmad.
Chennaiyin who played with a 4-3-3 formation started the game brightly and they created numerous chances in the opening minutes of the match. CFC’s Anirudh Thapa’s shot in the first minute was saved by Kerala keeper Albino Gomes early on. They had as many as 4 chances within the first 3 minutes of the game.
Under this discipline, Fatkhulo Fatkhulloev struck in the 10th minute for CFC, after an assist from Edwin Vanspaul. CFC almost scored their second, but a Sipovic header hit the crossbar. Deepak Tangri’s handball gave away the advantage for CFC, with Gary Hooper converting the penalty cleanly to make it 1-1 for the Kerala side.
Both teams continued to to make every effort to break the deadlock but both teams failed to convert the chances created at both ends. CFC were put under more pressure when they were reduced to 10 men in the 80th minute after Enes Sipovic picked up his second yellow card of the game. There was no coming back from there on for CFC as Kerala despite intense pressure failed to get an elusive winner.
The results leaves Kerala 10th in the table.
What’s Next
Hyderabad FC vs ATK Mohun Bagan meet later today- Monday the 21st February 2021
