Odisha and Goa share spoils in an entertaining 1-1 draw
Odisha and Goa played out a 1-1 stalemate at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Friday evening in a 2021-22 Indian Super League match. Spanish defender Ivan Gonzalez broke the deadlock for the Gaurs in the 42nd minute of the game, while Jonathas restored parity for Odisha in the second half.
The managerial change at Goa did not bring in changes to the starting lineup from their previous match against Hyderabad. However, Odisha manager Kiko Ramirez did tweak his starting XI as captain Vinit Rai came back to man the midfield while Hendry Antonay, Zuala, Nanda Kumar, Jerry Mawihmingthanga and Hector Rodas were handed starts as well.
It was a very cagey affair right from the very beginning with both sides trying their best to control the midfield. The first major opening of the game was created in the 26th minute when a brilliant move from the Gaurs saw Saviour Gama and Alberto Noguera coalescing swiftly before the latter came up with a powerful strike that was saved by the Juggernauts custodian Kamaljit Singh who averted the danger.
Derrick Pereira’s men were finally rewarded in the 42nd minute when central defender Aiban Dohling flicked on a free-kick from Noguera which landed kindly for his defensive partner-in-crime Ivan Gonzalez. The Real Madrid Castilla product made no mistake in scoring the tap-in handing Goa the crucial lead.
The second half started with matching aggression and vigor as challenges kept on flying in with Antonay and Rodas picking up yellow cards within six minutes of the resumption of play.
The Kalinga Warriors restored parity in the 53rd minute when a whipped cross from Nandakumar Sekar got deflected off Seriton Fernandes and landed perfectly for Jonathas in the penalty area which was scrambled over the line by Odisha’s Brazilian striker.
Jonathas’ goal restored parity in the match
Ramirez decided to shuffle things up a bit around the hour mark by bringing in Aridai Cabrera to add more legs in the attack. There was a clamorous penalty appeal from Odisha in the 65th minute when Javi Hernandez claimed he was impeded in the box but replays clearly showed how the Spaniard orchestrated a dive himself.
Odisha almost had the lead seven minutes later when Aridai’s cross caught Goa’s custodian Dheeraj Singh off guard. In a bid to clear the ball to safety, substitute Dylan Fox headed the ball towards his own net and struck the crossbar before Liridon Krasniqi tried to slam in the rebound but his shot on target was stopped by Gonalez who stood tall once gain to make a vital goal-line clearance.
As the game entered the last quarter, both coaches tried injecting fresh legs. Pereira gave the likes of Muhammed Nemil and Makan Chothe to rattle the Odisha defense and while they did create a few opportunities, it was not enough to trouble Ramirez’s backline.
Rather, the last major opportunity of the game came to Odisha in stoppage time when Aridai made a daunting run down the middle and laid the ball off for Krasniqi but the Malaysian midfielder hit the upright instead of rippling the back of the net.
With this draw, Odisha remains in the seventh position and will now take on Hyderabad on Tuesday. On the other hand, Goa is just below them in the eighth position and they will take on their former coach Juan Ferrando’s new team ATK Mohun Bagan on Wednesday.