Fellow 2021/22 Indian Super League strugglers FC Goa and NorthEast United played out a 1-1 draw at the GMC Athletic Stadium on Friday night. The stalemate landed yet another dent on the two sides’ top-four hopes – come the end of the season.
The current predicament both FC Goa and NorthEast United find themselves in is proof of how erratic the Indian Super League is; the pair, last season’s semifinalists, started the Friday night game in 9th and 10th positions, respectively. While the Gaurs dominated proceedings at the Athletic Stadium, poor finishing in front of goal and good goalkeeping from Mirshad Michu meant they couldn’t get anything more than a point from the match.
Like their previous game, NorthEast United came flying out of the blocks with an early goal. Central midfielder Hernan Santana opened the scoring in the second minute with a sensational free-kick; he struck from a distance and a position on the pitch from where one might expect a cross to be played inside the box. Goa custodian Dheeraj Singh seemed to think so too, as his starting position – far too much to his left – meant that Hernan could squeeze the ball in at the near post.
The early concession jolted Goa into action – and Alberto Noguera and Jorge Ortiz tested their luck. The Spaniard, especially, found space consistently behind the NEUFC full-backs, and his squared pass across the box to Alexander Romario Jesuraj in the 28th minute provided Goa with their best chance at an equalizer – only for Jesuraj’s shot to be saved by Michu. Nonetheless, the Gaurs finally achieved parity in the 39th minute through Airam Cabrera, who simply nodded the ball in from a corner.
Goa dominated proceedings in the second half and were only kept from taking the lead by Michu, who made a few good stops to deny Ortiz.
The Gaurs thought they had scored in the 79th minute when the NorthEast custodian spilled a routine save in a dangerous area, sparking an almighty scramble at the end of which substitute Makan Chote had poked the ball in. However, the referee blew his whistle for an apparent foul in the build-up, snatching away Goa’s advantage.
Cabrera, then, missed a late chance to give Goa the lead when he shot wide from a good position after being played in by Noguera. It wasn’t to be the Gaurs’ day, and they had to settle for a point – one that takes them into eighth.
