Goa beat East Bengal in 7-goal thriller to secure first win of the ISL 2021-22 season
The wait for Goa is finally over as they got their first win of the 2021-22 Indian Super League season as they got the better of SC East Bengal by a 4-3 margin.
Manolo Diaz made changes to his defense despite the 0-0 draw against Chennaiyin as he reunited Tomislav Mrcela and Franjo Prce in central defense whilst Raju Gaikwad was rewarded with the right-back position after impressing in a substitute appearance. Joyner Lourenco, Daniel Gomes, Mohamad Rafique, Darren Sidoel, and Daniel Chima Chukway had to make way for the inclusion of Sourav Das, Bikash Jairu, and Antonio Perosevic.
On the other hand, Juan Ferrando tweaked his formation by fielding a three-man backline of Mohamed Ali, Aiban Dohling, and Ivan Gonzalez with Seriton Fernandes and Saviour Gama playing as wingbacks. Skipper Edu Bedia returned to the starting XI alongside Devendra Murgaonkar with Princeton Rebello, Nongdamba Naorem, Alexander Romario Jesuraj, Dylan Fox, and Sanson Periera relegated to the bench.
The match had a nervy start as both teams were wayward with their passing in the initial phase of the game but the nerves settled down as the match went on.
Alberto Noguera opened the scoring for Goa
Bedia had the first major chance to open the scoring as a poor clearance from the East Bengal defense allowed him to take a shot from just outside the penalty area but the ball flew over the goal. In the 14th minute, Noguera outwitted Bikash Jairu 35 yards away from goal and decided to pull the trigger from long-range as he beat the helpless Suvam Sen to hand the Gaurs an early lead.
Ten minutes later, Fernandes fouled Jairu less than 25 yards away from goal, collecting a yellow card from the referee. The resulting free-kick from Amir Dervisevic struck the wall and fell kindly for Antonio Perosevic who came up with a sublime volley finding the top corner.
Around five minutes later, scrappy football from the Red and Golds saw Das bringing down Fernandes in the box and the referee eventually gave Goa the penalty after consulting with his assistant. For a player of his caliber, Jorge Ortiz expectedly made no mistake in converting from the spot finding the bottom right corner.
Hardly five minutes after Ortiz’s strike, Dervisevic’s brilliant free-kick restored parity for the second time for Manolo Diaz’s men. It was a game of end-to-end action and Goa struck again in the 44th minute when a precise Noguera delivery from the corner found Murgaonkar unmarked at the near post and the forward’s flick-on struck Perosevic and found the back of the net as the Kolkata-based team failed to keep the game in the balance till the half-time break.
After the break, Diaz brought on Adil Khan and Chukwa to add fresh legs to his side whilst Lalrinliana Hnamte was introduced at the hour-mark to recharge the East Bengal attack batteries.
Antonio Perosevic netted a brace for East Bengal
The second half was much slower in tempo but an individual error added spice to the game as Glan Martins carelessly gave the ball away to Perosevic in a dangerous position and the Croatian wriggled past two defenders before slotting it past Dheeraj Singh in goal.
Minutes later, the Kolkata-based team had a gilt-edged chance when Chima won the ball in a dangerous area and passed it to Perosevic, who decided to pull the trigger himself despite having players in a better position to shoot but failed to score a hat-trick on the evening.
The near-misses eventually came back to haunt Diaz’s team when East Bengal’s backline failed to deal with a cross from Ortiz and the ball fell kindly for Noguera who slotted it past Sen to take the lead.
With their first win, the Gaurs moved to 10th place in the standings while the Red and Golds are now placed at the very bottom. Goa will now take on Bengaluru on Saturday, while a day later, East Bengal will cross swords with Kerala Blasters.