FC Goa earned their first points of the ISL season, as they drew 1-1 with Atletico de Kolkata at the Rabindra Sarobar stadium.
Sameegh Doutie opened the scoring with perhaps a goal-of-the-season contender, volleying a stunning strike into the top corner to give ATK the lead in the 6th minute. FC Goa responded well, with Trindade going close twice in the first half, but were unable to score, trailing by a solitary goal going into the break.
Pearson's red card in the 52nd minute handed the advantage to Goa, but they squandered it away soon after, with Sanjay being sent off in the 60th minute as both sides went down to 10 men. Borja conceded a penalty in the 76th minute, handling in the box, and Jofre duly converted against his former side, earning Goa's first points of the season.
The following are the player ratings from the game -
Atletico de Kolkata
Debjit Majumder: 8/10
He was kept quite busy in goal, facing 4 shots apart from Jofre’s penalty. Looked in command and did his part in a good defensive performance for the hosts.
Prabir Das: 7/10
He did well to keep out Goa’s attacks down the left. He allowed very few effective crosses into the box, matching all wing-play toe-to-toe. He was also a useful overlap for the Atletico midfield, keeping Goa’s wing-play pinned for much of the game.
Sereno: 7/10
Barring a few hiccups, Sereno was able to keep Robin Singh quiet for most of the game. He showed good composure and adept covering for much of the game, and was important for Atletico’s rearguard action.
Arnab Mondal: 7/10
Veteran Mondal had a normal day at the office in what has now become expected of his high standards. He combined well to keep Goa’s forwards movements in check, while making several important interceptions, tackles and clearances. He kept his cool head in possession.
Pritam Kotal: 7/10
While Atletico’s defence had no standout stars today, Kotal was probably the busiest of the lot today. With Goa preferring their own right wing for attack, Kotal had to be in top nick today, and he showed no weaknesses in keeping Jofre and co scoreless from open play.
Borja: 7/10
Not quite in keeping with his usually high standards, Borja had a rather forgettable day in office. While he was his usual creative self in attack, he gave away a penalty (albeit harshly) that allowed FC Goa to steal a point from the game.
Pearson: 4/10
While Pearson was not bad for the duration that he was on the pitch, his unnecessarily wild tackle early in the second half led the referee to brandish him a straight red. It left Kolkata’s midfield hopelessly imbalanced till the time that the game remained an uneven contest.
Abhinas Ruidas: 7/10
A rather surprise inclusion in the starting lineup today, Ruidas played a fairly decent game. He was, however, unable to produce more moments of brilliance after his forced substitution. He would do well to improve upon his performance today, and was brought off after Pearson’s red card.
Javi Lara: 8/10
He did a marvellous job on set piece duty today, playing in a few good balls. He also tested Goa custodian with a well-directed free kick in the second half, and was in general, responsible for Kolkata’s domination of the first half.
Sameegh Doutie: 8/10
As the best player on the pitch today, Doutie was Atletico’s driving force. His powerful runs invited a number of clumsy challenges from the FC Goa players, resulting in good set piece situations. The goal he scored was off a sweet finish, in keeping with the overall levels of his performance.
Iain Hume: 7/10
Hume was his usual terrier-like, tireless self today. Although he could not fashion a goal for himself, his runs and control of the ball gave him a number of interesting opportunities to create openings. A goal barrage from him is coming soon, at this rate.
Substitutes:
Bikramjit Singh: 7/10
Did a good job of keeping things tight in Atletico’s midfield following his introduction. Will need more playing time to showcase his true abilties.
Belencoso: N/A
FC Goa
Subhasish Roy: 8.5/10
Barring the goal that he conceded, Roy had an exemplary game in the Goa goal. Making 5 saves, including a well-timed effort from Javi Lara’s free kick, Roy was crucial to Goa’s survival in the game, before they hit back with the penalty.
Keenan Almeida: 5/10
Ruidas ruined Keenan’s evening in the first half today, as the Kolkata winger beat Keenan on several occasions this evening. After Ruidas’ substitution, however, Keenan managed to play himself back into better form, and performed well in attack.
Rafael Dumas: 6/10
The Brazilian, included in the starting lineup at the expense of compatriot Lucio, had a decent game today. A late yellow card, however, marred a quality performance and gave Kolkata a chance to get back in the game.
Gregory Arnolin: 7/10
Brought into the lineup in place of off-colour Lucio, Arnolin’s covering and command of Goa’s backline helped to keep them relevant in the early stages. As Goa grew into the game, Arnolin’s presence proved to be vital.
Raju Gaikwad: 6/10
He was booked early on for clattering into Iain Hume. It took him a while after Goa’s first concession to get going, but he provided a stable presence in the backline in the latter stages of the game, when Kolkata pressed for a winning goal.
Richarlyson: 6/10
He provided a mobile presence down Goa’s left, but he was not used as much he would have liked. Got very few opportunities on the counterattack to show off his dribbling and speed, but gave in a fair performance all-in-all.
Matheus Trindade: 7/10
Went close on a couple of occasions in the first half, and was a busybody in the heart of Goa’s midfield today. Took the battle to the solid opposition midfield and was Goa’s best player on the day.
Sanjay Balmuchu: 3/10
He was stupid and reckless in the challenge that led to his second yellow (it might even have been worthy of a straight red). His red saw Goa lose much of their attacking steam.
Jofre: 7/10
He was left inches short of a sumptuous ball from Julio Cesar that would have won Goa the game late on. Jofre scored the penalty with an assured strike to get Goa back on level terms, and gave Mondal plenty of headaches to deal with.
Rafael: 6/10
He missed the target on a couple of occasions from promising chances, but he did enough to justify his inclusion in the team as Zico sought to make wholesale changes to his initial setup from the season.
Robin Singh: 5/10
The same cannot be said of the Indian international, who did not make great use of his physique today. He was left frustrated for most of his time on the pitch, as Kolkata’s centreback duo dealt with him routinely. He earned himself a needless booking as well.
Substitutes:
Romeo Fernandes: 6/10
He was an average presence on Goa’s right, giving Kolkata’s defence a number of headaches. Romeo was, however, unable to produce anything substantial, and frittered away a few easy chances to do so.
M. Desai: N/A
Julio Cesar: N/A
