Weakened Goa hold NorthEast United to a 1-1 stalemate
Goa came from behind to hold NorthEast United to a 1-1 draw in ‘Match 60’ of the 2021-22 season of the Indian Premier League. Hernan Santana’s fantastic freekick in the 3rd minute handed the Highlanders a crucial lead, while Airam Cabrera’s 39th-minute header restored parity for the Gaurs.
Goa missed two overseas stars in Ivan Gonzalez and Edu Bedia, who were declared unavailable for this match a few hours before kick-off. Head coach Derrick Pereira had to field Leander D’Cunha in Gonzalez’s place, while Princeton Rebello filled up Bedia’s spot in the middle. Muhammed Nemil made way for returning Airam Cabrera, who paired upfront with Jorge Ortiz.
On the other hand, Khalid Jamil also made quite a few tweaks to the Highlanders’ starting XI. Gurjinder Kumar replaced Tondonba Singh in the backline, whereas Sehnaj Singh and Roccharzela also returned to the starting XI in place of Pragyan Gogoi and Mathias Coureur.
Young defender D’Cunha had a difficult start as he conceded a cheap free-kick on the edge of the penalty area in only the second minute of the match. Santana took the set-piece responsibility on his shoulders and his strike had enough swerve to beat Dheeraj Singh in the Goa goal.
The Gaurs had their first chance in the tenth minute when a ball from midfield reached Saviour Gama on the left. The fullback made a darting run before releasing a pass to Alexander Romario Jesuraj in the penalty area, but his shot was deflected out for a corner.
The Highlanders then had the chance to double the lead six minutes later when a misplaced pass from a player in orange gave the ball away to Deshorn Brown who skipped past two markers elegantly but failed to keep his shot on target. Minutes later, Jorge Ortiz opened his box of tricks to outfox his marker Provat Lakra before pulling the trigger, but NorthEast United custodian Mirshad Michu did well to avert the danger.
The first half was packed with end-to-end action with both sides taking turns in attack, as after Ortiz’s missed opportunity, it was then Brown’s turn to squander a chance. The Jamaican marksman combined effectively with VP Suhair but his shot get deflected off for a corner.
That miss proved to be a costly one, as Goa took complete control of the proceedings after Brown’s attempt. Saviour Gama tried his luck out in the 37th minute but failed to find the back of the net. He did not rue the missed chance for long though, as the Gaurs equalized only a couple of minutes later. An Alberto Noguera corner found Cabrera unmarked in the box as he headed the ball past Mirshad to restore parity.
Alberto Noguera tried to pull strings from the midfield
Having brought the game to level pegging, Pereira’s men almost took the lead in the 66th minute when Jesuraj laid off a Noguera cross for Ortiz on the edge of the box, but the Spaniard’s shot was agonizingly wide of the target. The Getafe academy graduate tried testing Mirshad once again only a couple of minutes later, but it seemed as if luck was not on his side.
Goa’s biggest chance came in the 79th minute of the game when Mirshad saved a fantastic Ortiz freekick and Cabrera collected the rebound to pull the trigger himself. This time around, a NorthEast player goalline clearance but the ball fell kindly for Glan Martins, who slotted it home. However, referee R Venkatesh surprisingly chalked the goal off for a foul on the East Bengal custodian.
The Gaurs have moved to eighth place with this draw and will now take on Goa on Wednesday, while the tenth-placed NorthEast United will lock horns with Odisha on Tuesday.