KOCHI — Boris
Singh scored the lone goal as FC Goa notched their 50th clean sheet in the
competition and continued their formidable form as they edged past Kerala
Blasters FC 1-0 in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 season at the
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.
It was an intensely cagey affair between the two teams, as
neither was allowing an inch to their opposition. It was an interesting
midfield tussle, with the Kerala Blasters FC preferring their homegrown
talents, Vibin Mohanan and Freddy Lallawmawma, against FC Goa’s Carl McHugh-led
midfield.
The first opportunity of the game fell to Iker Guarrotxena
when the Spaniard struck the post from a well-planned freekick. It was straight
out of the training ground and it took the opposition defenders by surprise.
However, it was cleared away after hitting the far post with Sachin Suresh
completely beaten between the sticks.
The Gaurs were relentless in attack post the 30-minute mark
and their persistence eventually bore fruit when Sahil Tavora found Boris Singh
on the right flank with acres of space. The winger tried his luck from a narrow
angle and to everyone’s surprise, Sachin Suresh failed to parry the ball away,
eventually conceding in the 40th minute.
It has been a tough inaugural season for Mikael Stahre with
his team dropping points due to several individual errors. One such incident
happened today with Sachin Suresh fluffing his lines which otherwise was a very
regulation save. Now the goal handed FC Goa the lead at the break, allowing the
visitors to dictate terms in the second period.
The Gaurs started the second half just like they finished
the first one. They almost doubled their lead when Dejan Drazic was in behind
the Blasters' backline on a fast break. He wriggled his way past Pritam Kotal
but was eventually denied by Sachin Suresh.
With Manolo Marquez’s men continuing their onslaught, Stahre
decided to shake things up with wholesale changes in the 56th minute. He
brought on the likes of Kwame Peprah, Korou Singh, and Sandeep Singh replacing
Jesus Jimenez, Rahul KP, and Pritam Kotal respectively.
Peprah was off the blocks quickly with a brilliantly
weighted diagonal ball to Noah Sadaoui. However, the Moroccan’s final ball
intended for Luna was expertly blocked by Akash Sangwan. There was a spell in
between which belonged to the hosts but the likes of Odei Onaindia and Sandesh
Jhingan held their fort with aplomb.
In the 84th minute, Manolo turned to his substitutions as he
brought on the trio of Armando Sadiku, Borja Herrera, and Udanta Singh to
freshen things up for the visitors. FC Goa’s defenders were once again called
into action by young Korou, who took two attempts on goal in quick succession but
both times it was kept out.
The youngster was in a great position to equalise in the
first instance but he was denied by an excellent block from Jhingan, who threw
his body on the line to safeguard the lead for the Gaurs.
FC Goa will next travel to Hyderabad to face Hyderabad FC on
December 4 whereas Kerala Blasters will lock horns with their arch-rivals
Bengaluru FC on December 7.
