Goa finished top of the Indian Super League in its second season, beating Delhi 3-2 on Sunday in a prequel to the upcoming semi-final between the two teams.
Both teams, going into this match, knew that it was important to lay a marker down before the crucial two-legged tie this week that would decide the finalists for this year’s season.
Eventually, Goa continued their merry ways and clawed their way back into the match, after being down 2-0 at half time to seal victory late into regulation time and clinched top spot ahead of Atletico De Kolkata.
For Delhi and Roberto Carlos, it was a case of having blown an opportunity to gain some measure of revenge as they lost their first game of the season to FC Goa by two goals to nil. They finish fourth with 22 points, having scored 18 and conceded 20, having conceded only nine in their first ten matches.
Even the first half clean sheet was not a proper reflection of their defensive abilities as Delhi continue to struggle to match up to the consistency at the back that they had carved out for themselves for long parts of the season.
Robin Singh’s sheer naiveté
In the past few years, Robin Singh has grown in stature as a striker and is now a vital cog in the teams that he has played in – be it the Indian national team, Bengaluru FC in the I-League and now, Delhi Dynamos in the ISL.
With Sunil Chhetri now above 30, Robin Singh’s importance to the national team grows even stronger as he is expected to lead the attack after Chhetri’s eventual departure and retirement. For a man on whom so many hopes are placed, there was a moment of sheer naivete from Robin during the first half.
The moment came in the 38th minute with Delhi 1-0 up, when a ball looping its way towards the Goa penalty box was miscleared and smashed straight against Robin, which ricocheted past an onrushing Elinton Andrade and was creeping towards the goal.
Andrade however, did make a dive to try and catch the ball which he did but his momentum carried him towards the goal. On reaching the goal line, Andrade decided to keep things safety first and threw the ball out before he and the ball crossed the line.
Robin Singh, who was the nearest player to the ball and the keeper, should and could have chased the loose ball down, but instead stood there, berating the officials and glaring at them with his hands on his hips.
Even Carlos did manage a smile, but tougher managers would have laid into Robin for arguing about the decision not to award a goal and for not carrying on with the game. The first lesson that most professional footballers learn is to ‘play for the whistle’.
A game of two halves
Delhi started the match well but were guilty of some sloppy finishing and untidy shooting. Adil Nabi and Vinicius shot when way off goal with their shots horribly off target. Vinicius was guilty of missing another gilt-edged chance when he was played through, but he fluffed his finish.
Robin was having a mini-battle with Lucio and it was one of these forays that he was fouled by Lucio. Malouda took the resulting free-kick and beautifully swung it in to the box where Serginho Greene made no mistake in burying it into the goal to give Delhi the lead in the 31st minute.
Delhi doubled their lead in the 40th minute when Robin passed the ball to Gadze on the edge of the box whose intricate pass made its way to Adil Nabi, who coolly finished past Andrade for his second goal in consecutive matches.
The half ended with Reinaldo heading just over from a well-centred cross and Goa were 2-0 down at half time, giving Zico and his boys something to ponder about.
Goa came out with stronger purpose in the second half as a couple of quick chances fell to Dudu in succession with the Gaurs unable to make it count. Meanwhile, Delhi keeper Sanjiban was having a tough time out there.
Against the run of play, Vinicius did make his way into the Goan box but shot straight at Andrade and curled the rebound wide. Meanwhile, Zico threw on Romeo Fernandes to try and inject some pace into the game.
The move seemed to work as Romeo cut in from the right and shot it straight at the Delhi keeper who was off his line. The ball went above Sanjiban’s head and he should have done better as he got his finger tips to it but was unable to prevent it from going into the goal.
Minutes later, it was 2-2 as Romeo ran onto Dudu’s lovely pass into the six-yard area and tapped it in to equalise things for Delhi. Sanjiban’s horrible night continued as he split a routine shot straight to Dudu whose goal was ruled out for offside.
Goa had the last laugh as Joffre ran into box in the last minute and rounded the keeper and stroked the ball home into an open net to give Goa the win on the night.
These two sides contest the first leg of the semi-finals in five days’ time at the same stadium and both will be hoping for a more solid display from their backline. For now, the group stage is over and FC Goa can claim to be king for the moment.
Both teams, going into this match, knew that it was important to lay a marker down before the crucial two-legged tie this week that would decide the finalists for this year’s season.
Eventually, Goa continued their merry ways and clawed their way back into the match, after being down 2-0 at half time to seal victory late into regulation time and clinched top spot ahead of Atletico De Kolkata.
For Delhi and Roberto Carlos, it was a case of having blown an opportunity to gain some measure of revenge as they lost their first game of the season to FC Goa by two goals to nil. They finish fourth with 22 points, having scored 18 and conceded 20, having conceded only nine in their first ten matches.
Even the first half clean sheet was not a proper reflection of their defensive abilities as Delhi continue to struggle to match up to the consistency at the back that they had carved out for themselves for long parts of the season.
Robin Singh’s sheer naiveté
In the past few years, Robin Singh has grown in stature as a striker and is now a vital cog in the teams that he has played in – be it the Indian national team, Bengaluru FC in the I-League and now, Delhi Dynamos in the ISL.
With Sunil Chhetri now above 30, Robin Singh’s importance to the national team grows even stronger as he is expected to lead the attack after Chhetri’s eventual departure and retirement. For a man on whom so many hopes are placed, there was a moment of sheer naivete from Robin during the first half.
The moment came in the 38th minute with Delhi 1-0 up, when a ball looping its way towards the Goa penalty box was miscleared and smashed straight against Robin, which ricocheted past an onrushing Elinton Andrade and was creeping towards the goal.
Andrade however, did make a dive to try and catch the ball which he did but his momentum carried him towards the goal. On reaching the goal line, Andrade decided to keep things safety first and threw the ball out before he and the ball crossed the line.
Robin Singh, who was the nearest player to the ball and the keeper, should and could have chased the loose ball down, but instead stood there, berating the officials and glaring at them with his hands on his hips.
Even Carlos did manage a smile, but tougher managers would have laid into Robin for arguing about the decision not to award a goal and for not carrying on with the game. The first lesson that most professional footballers learn is to ‘play for the whistle’.
A game of two halves
Delhi started the match well but were guilty of some sloppy finishing and untidy shooting. Adil Nabi and Vinicius shot when way off goal with their shots horribly off target. Vinicius was guilty of missing another gilt-edged chance when he was played through, but he fluffed his finish.
Robin was having a mini-battle with Lucio and it was one of these forays that he was fouled by Lucio. Malouda took the resulting free-kick and beautifully swung it in to the box where Serginho Greene made no mistake in burying it into the goal to give Delhi the lead in the 31st minute.
Delhi doubled their lead in the 40th minute when Robin passed the ball to Gadze on the edge of the box whose intricate pass made its way to Adil Nabi, who coolly finished past Andrade for his second goal in consecutive matches.
The half ended with Reinaldo heading just over from a well-centred cross and Goa were 2-0 down at half time, giving Zico and his boys something to ponder about.
Goa came out with stronger purpose in the second half as a couple of quick chances fell to Dudu in succession with the Gaurs unable to make it count. Meanwhile, Delhi keeper Sanjiban was having a tough time out there.
Against the run of play, Vinicius did make his way into the Goan box but shot straight at Andrade and curled the rebound wide. Meanwhile, Zico threw on Romeo Fernandes to try and inject some pace into the game.
The move seemed to work as Romeo cut in from the right and shot it straight at the Delhi keeper who was off his line. The ball went above Sanjiban’s head and he should have done better as he got his finger tips to it but was unable to prevent it from going into the goal.
Minutes later, it was 2-2 as Romeo ran onto Dudu’s lovely pass into the six-yard area and tapped it in to equalise things for Delhi. Sanjiban’s horrible night continued as he split a routine shot straight to Dudu whose goal was ruled out for offside.
Goa had the last laugh as Joffre ran into box in the last minute and rounded the keeper and stroked the ball home into an open net to give Goa the win on the night.
These two sides contest the first leg of the semi-finals in five days’ time at the same stadium and both will be hoping for a more solid display from their backline. For now, the group stage is over and FC Goa can claim to be king for the moment.
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