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FC Goa's poor run continued as they were held by Delhi Dynamos at home in a crucial ISL encounter. The Gaurs who haven't won even a single match out of their last five fixtures stayed glued to the sixth spot with 21 points from 15 games.
Having taken the lead in the second half, the hosts looked on course to break their winless streak but Delhi's Kalu Uche scored his eighth goal of the edition to make it 1-1. It stayed that way till the end of the 90 minutes to jeopardies Goa's chances of qualifying for the playoffs.
#1 FC Goa show intent but fail to find the net in the first half
FC Goa came into the match with a purpose and that was quite obvious from the way they carried themselves on the pitch in the first half. Sergio Lobera’s men attacked in numbers, stringing together quickly-taken passes but failed to find the finishing touch to get the lead.
Twice Brandon Fernandes found himself in good positions to hit the target but he pulled his shots wide on both occasions.
However, the best chance of the half fell to Mandar Rao Dessai. Hugo Boumous played the ball into Mandar’s path who entered the box from the right and had the entire goal to aim at but blasted the ball into the hands of the goalie.
#2 Delhi looked dangerous on the counter
Delhi Dynamos were impressive in patches in the first half as they stuck to counter-attacking tactics. The visitors defended well, with their goalkeeper Xabi Irureta playing a vital role under the sticks, and attacked whenever there was an opportunity to split open FC Goa’s defence line.
On one such occasion, Kalu Uche found Manuel Arana on the edge of the box who took a shot on goal but the effort was too weak to trouble Naveen Kumar. However, the constant pressure which the Delhi forwards kept on the fragile FC Goa defence, made the first half exciting.
#3 Boumous steals the show
The Moroccan midfielder had big shoes to fill as he was replacing suspended Manuel Lanzarote in the line-up and Boumous grabbed this opportunity with both hands.
Having impressed in the first half, the midfielder sprung to action right at the beginning of the second when Delhi failed to track his solo run from the centre line. Boumous made the visitors pay as his shot from outside the box took a wicked deflection off Gabriel Cichero to enter the Dynamos net.
The partisan crowd, who were expecting Ferran Corominas to open the scoring, found a new hero to cheer for.
#4 Uche stuns Fatorda
Delhi were able to spoil FC Goa’s part as Uche scored his eighth goal of the season to silence the home fans.
The goal came from a brilliant move by the visitors. Jeroen Lumu found Lallianzuala Chhangte on the left who squared for an unmarked Uche in the box and the Nigerian slotted the ball home with ease. He would have done that even in his sleep.
FC Goa’s defence line was split open in one move and this goal might prove to be a turning point in their campaign as they struggle to get into the playoff spots.
#5 Corominas left hanging on 13 goals
The Spaniard failed to get his 14th goal, which would have made him the man with most number of strikes in a single ISL season, taking him past former Chennaiyin FC player Stiven Mendoza.
The striker made his presence felt throughout the game but faltered when it came to finding the back of the net. Delhi goalkeepers Irureta and Arnab Das Sharma also deserve credit for keeping the goal machine at bay.
In the 62nd minute, Irureta charged off his line to save a left-footed effort of the Spaniard. Then Arnab, who had substituted Irureta later in the game, denied FC Goa three points when Coro’s right-footed shot from 12 yards out was saved by him as he leaped in the air to keep out the effort in the dying minutes of the game.
