Goa and Jamshedpur will face each other in an important mid-table clash of Indian Football League 2020-21. Both sides dropped points in its previous outings against 10-men Bengal and Kerala respectively.
Match Timings: Jan 14, 7:30 PM IST
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Goa and Jamshedpur lock horns on Thursday night to fancy its chances for playoffs. Both sides have played a brand football but lack of consistency harmed its numbers in the points table. Goa held Bengal for a 1-1 draw in its previous game and share the spoils. They got an early chance to strike through Brandon Fernandes’s kick but Debjit Majumder denied the goal with a diving save. Robbie Fowler’s men also had half-chances but the goal was still missing. Captain Danny Fox missed a sitter when he got a good pass from Raju Gaikwad. Both sides canceled out each other in the goalless first half. Debjit Majumder produced another save from a Jorge Ortiz long-shot. Gaurs could have gained the lead. Due to a red-card to Danny Fox, Bengal went down to ten men. It didn’t affect the speed of the game and Nigerian forward Bright Enobakhare scored the finest goal for Bengal to take the lead. Devendra Murgaonkar equalised for Goa two minutes later and both sides settled for a point each in the end.
Goa now have picked up 9 points from a losing position and the last four goals came in the final quarter. The result of the Bengaluru and Northeast game helped Goa to retain the fourth spot and they have to find a way to get three points to extend this run. Goa and Hyderabad both have 15 points and win can give them the third spot in the table.
Meanwhile, Jamshedpur have impressed this season and since the defeat to Chennai in the season opener, they have given a tough time to strong sides. They defeated Mariners and played a draw with Mumbai. They suffered an unexpected result in the last game against Kerala. Nerijus Valskis and Mohammad Mobashir looked solid from the beginning. They couldn’t convert this momentum into the goal as Gary Hooper troubled the backline. Kerala started the scoring for Kerala and Valskis almost equalised through a fine header which was set up by Aitor Monroy but Albino Gomes made a good save. The moment came after the cooling break and Valskis scored the goal through a direct free-kick. Owen Coyle’s side looked confident in the second half and after Lalruatthara was sent off, Kerala went to the 10-men. It didn’t affect Kerala’s hopes and Jordan Murray regained the lead.
TP Rehenesh had a terrific season but he made a big blunder by pushing Facundo Pereyra’s ball in the danger area. Murray completed a brace and Kerala took a 3-1 lead. Two minutes later, Nerijus Valskis scored his second goal through a cross from Mohammad Mobashir. Red Miners didn’t find the much-needed equaliser and Kerala walked away with the full three points. Coyle’s side played very well throughout the game but still lost the match. They missed out three easy chances but Gomes denied all. The scoreline could have been in favour of the Red Miners. Jamshedpur now have a good opportunity to take the playoff position back.
Possible Lineups & Current Form
Goa
Mohammed Nawaz, Seriton Fernandes, Ivan Gonzalez, James Donachie, Savioiur Gama, Edu Bedia, Princeton Rebello, Brandon Fernandes, Alexander Romario Jesuraj, Jorge Ortiz, Igor Angulo
Current form: D W W L L
Previous match: 1-1 draw with Bengal
Jamshedpur
TP Rehenesh, Joyner Lourenco, Stephen Eze, Peter Hartley, Ricky Lallawmawma, Mobashir Rahman, Aitor Monroy, Alex Lima, Aniket Jadhav, Jackichand Singh, Nerijus Valskis
Current form: L W L W D
Previous match: 3-2 defeat against Kerala
Key Players
Goa
Igor Angulo
9 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Alexander Romario Jesuraj
3 assists in Indian Football League 2020-21
Jamshedpur
Nerijus Valskis
8 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Stephen Eze
3 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
