10-man FC Goa hold Kerala Blasters FC to a 1-1 draw

Jorge Ortiz Mendoza-FC Goa

It was another drawn fixture in the Hero Indian Super League tonight, as the Kerala Blasters FC drew 1-1 with third-place FC Goa. It was indeed a tale of two halves in the fixture. While the first half belonged to the Gaurs, the second half was influenced by the Kerala Blasters FC. 

Both teams had a good form of late and they went into the match with not their points table ranking but their strengths in mind. The Blasters were unbeaten in their last three matches while FC Goa was on a five-match unbeaten run. Both teams definitely did not seem to relent in their attacking prowess. 

The first half started a bit heavy as the players did not leave an inch of footing for their opponents. The Gaurs seemed a bit ahead though as they held more of the play and dominated possession. In the 21st minute of the game, James Donachie went down with what seemed like a hamstring injury concern and was subbed off after a few minutes on the sideline. He made for Mohamed Ali and almost immediately, lady luck shone upon them. 

FC Goa had their first goal and it was Jorge Mendoza who broke the deadlock. He converted a freekick as his shot took a deflection from Sahal Abdul Samad, who was in the wall formation. Sahal’s deflection had the ball loop over goalkeeper Albino Gomes and his dive went in futile. The ball had found the back of the net. 

The second half saw the Blasters rise for the occasion and take charge. They now played some good football and dominated the possession and attack. It was not long before they scored their equaliser. And it was none other than Rahul KP that scored the decisive goal. Facundo Pereyra‘s corner from the right saw Rahul KP make a fast run towards the far post and time a well-executed jump. The ball met his header and went in immediately to the goal. The scoreline said 1-1 with one-third of regulation time left in the match.

Both teams tried to score a winner but none seemed successful. What was even worse for FC Goa, was that they were reduced to 10 men when Ivan Gonzalez was given the marching orders by the referee. He had made a rough challenge to Gary Hooper which earned him his first yellow. As he put his hand on the referee to explain his innocence, it was immediately turned to a second yellow. Players are not allowed to touch the referee as per the rules and Ivan Gonzalez had just made a huge mistake. Luckily for FC Goa, they didn’t concede another goal from that one man disadvantage.

The last golden chance came to the Blasters in the 84th minute when the rival goalkeeper rushed out to clear his line. Gary Hooper claimed the ball but his pass to Lalthathanga Khawlhring didn’t prove consequential, the latter should’ve made a better effort as his cross went out for a goal kick. It was a huge opportunity missed for the Kerala Blasters FC to earn the three points.

HERO OF THE MATCH: SANDEEP SINGH

The club awards were shared in lieu of the drawn match today and the DHL Winning Pass of the match went to Facundo Pereyra for his assist. The award for the Hero of the Match went to Sandeep Singh.

Even though the Blasters seemed even more dominant after the send-off, they could not convert their chances, nor could the Gaurs. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. FC Goa wouldn’t complain too much as they had a one-man disadvantage throughout the last third of the match. They face a spirited SC East Bengal in their next match on the 29th of January while the Blasters take on Jamshedpur FC on 27th January.