Sergio Lobera’s FC Goa went back to the top of the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 table with a commanding 3-0 win over Odisha FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa on Sunday. Striker and talisman, Ferran Corominas was the star of the show with a brace and an assist to his name.

  • Ferran Coromians opened the scoring on the 19th minute.
  • Brandon Fernandes doubled Goa’s lead five minutes from the 90.
  • Corominas won and converted a penalty five minutes later to cap off the victory for Goa.

The home side were quickly out of the blocks, with Mandar Rao Dessai’s cross and Hugo Boumous’ deflected attempt causing some trouble to Odisha within the first three minutes. The visitors, though, resisted those intentions and had their first chance of the match in the 17th minute.

Nandhakumar Sekar did well to swing in a pinpoint cross that found Aridane Santana free inside the box. The striker’s header, however, wasn’t nearly decisive and came back to hurt the visitors two minutes later.

Jackichand Singh released Boumous with a well-timed through ball inside the Odisha box, with the Frenchman squaring the ball across for Ferran Corominas, who applied the finishing touch and handed Goa the lead.

With their tails up, the Gaurs pressed even higher and created another decent opening which fell to the feet of Seiminlen Doungel. The winger’s effort, which came in the 25th minute, was powerful but was well saved by Odisha stopper, Arshdeep Singh.

At the stroke of the half an hour mark, the visitors had their best opportunity of the match when Santana found Martin Guedes to catch the Gaurs defence off-guard. The Argentine, though, couldn’t find the right finish much to the disappointment of the Odisha faithful.

Both sides found it difficult going in the last 15 minutes of the first half, with both lacking the authority in midfield. Santana’s free-kick right on the stroke of the whistle was the closest either went to scoring, as the Gaurs went in with a 1-0 lead.

The second 45 began just like the first with the Gaurs finding quick opportunities but failing to make the most of them. Xisco Hernandez’s introduction fuelled life into Odisha’s attack, who almost found the equaliser via a delicate Xisco header, which was well kept out by Mohammad Nawaz in the 58th minute.

Four minutes later, Goa had a chance of their own with Doungel finding just the goalkeeper between him and the goal. That, however, proved to be enough as the winger’s attempt was straight at Arshdeep in the Odisha goal.

A similar opportunity came Goa’s way ten minutes later, with Corominas setting substitute Edu Bedia free inside the Odisha box. The midfielder’s attempt though, was tame and made Arshdeep’s job easier in the visitor’s goal.

On the 77th minute, Josep Gombau’s side had an opening of their own when Narayan Das found Santana inside the Goa box. The Spaniard’s header was on target but also straight down Nawaz’s throat.

Eight minutes later, the Gaurs made the visitors pay for their lack of ruthlessness and doubled their lead. Corominas this time turned provider as he laid the ball off for Brandon who smashed it past Arshdeep to score his first goal of the season.

The Gaurs disturbed the scoreline yet again, as they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Corominas two minutes from the 90. The Spaniard stepped up and scored yet again, thereby ending a productive night for his side.

Hero of the Match – Ferran Corominas

With two goals and an assist, the Gaurs forward was literally unplayable and provided a whole lot of problems for the Odisha defence. The Spaniard also created five chances and had a healthy 70% passing accuracy throughout the fixture.

AWARDS

Club Award – FC Goa

Maruti Suzuki Limitless Player of the Match – Mourtada Fall

DHL Winning Pass of the Match – Hugo Boumous

ISL Emerging Player of the Match – Shubham Sarangi

Hero of the Match – Ferran Corominas

Watch the match highlights here:

Related tags:

FC GoaOdisha FC Match Report2019-2020