While Delhi Dynamos have looked one of the better teams in the league this season, FC Goa’s tournament has been one to forget. Already out of the reckoning for the knockout stages, the finalists of last season were looking to play spoil-sport against the early pace-setters this season.
The home team, which was looking to win to move closer to the knock-out stages, started the game on the front foot. Keeping the ball as well as creating most of the chances, Delhi easily looked the better team on the pitch. Against the run of play and after a melee, FC Goa got the first goal with a simple tap-in from Fulganco Cardozo.
It was a well-executed training move for Delhi’s first goal. Florent Malouda passed from a 25-yeard free kick, Marcelinho controlling well and finishing past Laxmikant Kattimani in the 38th minute. The Brazilian scored his second with a belter in the 48th minute, a pile-diver which beat Kattimani all ends up.
After the re-start, Richard Gadze celebrated his comeback with a brilliant finish from a Marcelinho pass in the 51st minute. The Brazilian completed his hat-trick in the 56th minute, with a bamboozling move against the FC Goa defenders.
The forward’s wizardry caught FC Goa’s defence off-guard and Marcelinho, yet again, converted with a low finish. Richard Gadze scored his second goal, in the 57th minute, finishing off another brilliant move from the home team. The game finished 5-1, the second-largest margin of victory this year, after Mumbai City FC defeated the Kerala Blasters 5-0. Delhi Dynamos own the record of being the only team to be undefeated at home in the league this season.
Here are the five major takeaways from the game
#1 The return of Richard Gadze worked as a boon for the home team
Such has been the impact of the diminutive Ghanaian striker that he effortlessly walked into the starting XI as soon as he was declared fit. With Gianluca Zambrotta almost forced to change his plans in the last game with the absence of both Gadze and Badji (due to suspension), Delhi Dynamos got a major boost with the return of their hard-working striker.
While the striker did look a little jittery in the beginning phases of the games, he came out-of-the-blocks pretty soon. Linking up brilliantly with Marcelinho, Gadze created two good opportunities in the first 10 minutes of the game itself.
The striker was always peppered on the field, with opposing defenders not giving him an ounce of space to operate. Gadze’s return, though, bodes well for the Lions as the striker is already looking inspiring and capable of link-up play.
Scoring in the 51st minute with a brilliant shot from a Marcelinho assist, the Ghanaian striker’s comeback must have made the Italian coach a happy man. The striker did not end his homecoming there and got his second in the 57th minute, although with a little luck.
#2 FC Goa looked bereft of ideas
Poor in possession of the ball, FC Goa didn’t look a side which came to win. Already ousted from the knockout stages, the Zico-coached side should have played a much better game. Slow, tiring to the eyes and inept in link-up play, the Gaurs were easily outplayed in the first half of the game.
With no real central midfielder to control proceedings and stop Marcos Tebar and Florent Malouda from operating, Goa lacked the quality on the pitch needed to battle against the form of the Delhi Dynamos FC. Richarlyson is more of a winger than he’s a central defensive midfielder, and FC Goa suffered poorly due to this mispositioning.
FC Goa did get the lead in the first half, but the manner did not look very inspiring. With a simple tap-in after a confusion in the box amidst Delhi defenders and goalkeeper Soram Poirei, Fulganco Cardozo gave the visitors the lead. In the second half, the away team faded away even more, with four goals from the home side completely nailing them.
By the end of the second half, Delhi had slowed down a lot, with substitutions affecting their run of play. Even then, FC Goa could not control the ball well and looked jaded and dis-interested. Their inability to play as a team opened them up badly, and Zico must be having a lot of thoughts about his next year’s plans.
#3 Soram Poirei needs to pull up his socks
The goalkeeper has been the second choice for Gianluca Zambrotta all season and surely needs to work better on his presence in the box. Playing with a capable defence, Soram looked a little out of sync with senior defender Ruben Gonzalez. The goalkeeper, whose handling and collection skills have never been a question, needs to work on his tuning with the central defenders.
Under a certain Toni Doblas, Soram should also hone his sweeper skills, which would fare well for Delhi in the knockout phases. The Spaniard plays the role similar to a certain Manuel Neuer well in the Delhi goal and should be inspiring the Indian goalkeeper to take up the challenge.
Soram is playing in his first ISL and his performances under the bar have been confident. A little more work on the additional aspects can see the youngster develop into a complete player in the years to come.
But for a poor mistake from the Indian, he could’ve easily got a clean sheet. Soram also saved a penalty in his last game, which shows why Zambrotta gives him the place.
#4 Reinaldo and Julio Cesar looked absent on the pitch
Each player has their bad day, but it’s difficult for a team when both their strikers have the same off day. The Goa strikers were all but present on the pitch, making life even easier for the home team.
Julio Cesar and Reinaldo looked absent for most of the first half, and Delhi’s inspiring display did not help them with any playing time in the second half. The only time Reinaldo was visible on the pitch was when he strayed offside on two occasions in the first half. Julio Cesar did have the credit for the first goal, but such was the journeyman’s display on the pitch, that Zico’s team sorely missed Rafael Coelho in the attacking third.
The poor performance of the strikers was not really a mystery. With very little or almost no creativity on the field, FC Goa could not help their strikers well. Cesar did try to make a few runs here and there, but the balls were lacking from the midfield. In the second half, Julio Cesar took two poor free-kicks from advanced positions, killing all hopes for the away side.
#5 Marcelinho is arguably the best foreigner in ISL this season
The Brazilian is arguably one of the best players ever to play in the Indian Super League. Creative and terrific with the ball at his feet and fast and incisive in his off-the-ball runs, Marcelinho has every attribute to be a top notch forward, and he’s proved that already. The winger scored his first hat-trick of the Indian Super League.
Marcelinho has been a ticking bomb in the league all this while, with his finishing being questioned on more than one occasion. Against FC Goa, the bomb exploded and how. While there was no doubt in his abilities as a creator, Marcelinho had taken a lot of shots on targets, and with his quality, better outcomes were expected.
Against the Gaurs, the forward showed why he’s indispensable to his coach. Scoring a brilliant hat-trick, the Brazilian also assisted the goals for Ghanaian striker Richard Gadze, and was an ever-presence threat in the FC Goa half. The player moved on top of the scorers’ charts with his 8 goals but Zambrotta would still be hoping his creative talisman can become a little more incisive and thus, deadly.
