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Marcus Joseph kept his promise.
It was his superb performance that Gokulam Kerala FC a vital away draw against Mohun Bagan, to keep alive their aim to finish in a respectable position.
Just a day ago in the pre-match press conference, Joseph confidently said he would score against Mohun Bagan and win the match for his team.
Though Gokulam couldn’t get all the three points, Joseph did score a goal and could’ve scored one more had his shot not missed the target in the opening minute.
The Kozhikode-based club, who earned the tag ‘giant killer’ in the past season for the superb performances against big clubs in the I-League, couldn’t keep the same form this season. Last few months saw them signing one player after another. But success remained elusive.
However, it looks like they have found their perfect man in Joseph. The Trinidad and Tobago player have scored his third goal on Wednesday in as many matches as Gokulam registered their second straight draw.
“I am very happy. I am satisfied with the goal. I took my time so that I can ensure the ball goes into the net,” Joseph, who bossed Bagan defender Eze Kinglsey throughout the match, told Sportskeeda.
During his time in Trinidad’s domestic league with his former club W Connection FC, he scored 18 goals to help his club win the title. He continued his success on Indian soil, which is completely unknown to him.
When asked about the secret, Joseph replied, “I don’t think too much going into the match. I take one game at a time and try to focus on that. I can assure you that I will score more goals in future.”
He also pointed out that Mohun Bagan’s backline is strong, but the defenders don’t have a good understanding. “They players are good in terms of quality. To go far, they need to play more together,” said Joseph.
Gokulam coach Gift Raikhan was effusive in his praise to Joseph. He said, “Joseph’s inclusion gave us a lot of confidence. He has the ability to make an impact and that’s why we have produced improved performance in the past couple of matches.”
Meanwhile, left-back Abhishek Das, who was rested against his former club Mohun Bagan, said, “You can see we are playing well in every match. But somehow the results were not going to our way. As we are now more or less settled, I hope we will play better in the future matches and finish the campaign in a respectable position.”
