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With games to win and needing to win to keep their semifinal hopes alive, FC Goa produced an impressive performance to come away with a big 4-0 win in the ISL away at FC Pune City. In an open game with both sides looking to progress into the semis, it was the visitors who came away with the spoils.
Goa took a 1-0 lead into half-time through Manuel Lanzarote and then went on to increase their advantage in the early minutes of the second. Pune looked flat and couldn't really muster up a fightback after going behind and they will now travel to Delhi for their last game with qualification still not guaranteed.
Here are the main talking points from the game:
#5 Goa seize the initiative from the spot
Hugo Boumous was bundled over by Adil Khan in the box in the first half which saw the home team concede a penalty.
It was a very open half of football, but without any clear-cut chances until then. Goa's pressure paid off when Khan caught Boumous just as the Goa man was about to make contact with an incoming cross in the 29th minute.
The referee pointed to the spot and Manuel Lanzarote, returning from suspension, made no mistake. He waited for Vishal Kaith to commit one side and then found the right corner, opening up his body beautifully.
#4 The referee fails to spot a foul and Marcelinho loses his marbles
Just after Goa had taken the lead, Pune made a good move down the left through Marcelinho. Just as he looked to dart into the box with the ball at his feet, he was brought down by Sergio Juste.
Marcelinho went tumbling on the ground and immediately gestured for a penalty to be given. Juste was pointing to the spot outside the box, making it clear that a penalty should not be awarded, in effect admitting to the foul.
Yet, Pranjal Banerjee waived it off completely saying there was no foul. There was clear contact, Marcelinho was brought down. Ranko Popovic could not believe it. Marcelinho went absolutely ballistic and picked up a yellow for admonishing the referee.
#3 Pune City fail to turn up in the second half
Pune were only down 1-0 at half-time. They could have been 2-0 down had it not been for Vishal Kaith making a point-blank save from Coro just before the break.
You would have thought Pune would come back with a bang to start the second, yet it looked like they were sleepwalking for the opening 10 minutes.
As soon as the second half started, Goa had a litany of chances come their way. They were able to waltz their way through the non-existent Pune defense with ease. Hugo Boumous made an excellent run to the byline and squared it back to Manuel Lanzarote who looked certain to score. Kaith though made another fantastic save with an outstretched arm.
Boumous went close himself a minute later, rattling the post with a solo effort. Pune though paid no heed to the warning signs and soon it was 2-0 to Goa with Boumous scoring. It was shocking defending from Pune and 2-0 became 3-0 quickly. Coro broke his barren run with a goal to put the result beyond doubt.
#2 This deserved two red cards
We've touched upon before on how Marcelinho has a nasty side to his game. In Pune City's previous game, he had a nasty tackle on Subhasish Bose that was not spotted.
Today, with his side already 4-0 down, he went in for a two-footed, disgraceful stamp on Pronay Halder. This time it was seen and he was given a yellow, his second of the game, which saw him sent off.
This was a straight red though. It was so bad that it deserved two red cards. The referees really must clamp down on Marcelinho for these tackles. Both today's challenge on Halder and last week's on Bose were potentially career-ending challenges. If ever there was a case for retrospective punishment, this was it.
Ranko Popovic has been naming Marcelinho captain which feels undeserved. He is not a good leader, loses the plot when things don't go his way and fails to galvanize his side when they are down. He will miss Pune's last match of the season away to Delhi Dynamos.
#1 A first-ever clean sheet for Goa
There's one thing that Goa had not done all season before today - kept a clean sheet.
It's been down to two things - their defence has been very weak and even the average ISL attack has been able to hurt them.
Pune City are one of the better attacking sides in the league and they allowed Goa to keep their very first clean sheet of the season, in such a big game no less.
Their abysmal start to the second half meant Goa fired in the goals to run away with the game. But Ranko Popovic will be left scratching his head as to how his side did not manage to do enough to score even a single goal against this Goa defence as they suffered their fifth home loss of the season.
