Goa will take on the Mariners in the Sunday night encounter of Indian Football League 2020-21 to boost its top four position. Both sides separate each other on just one point and winner will take the second spot.
Match Timings: Jan 17, 7:30 PM IST
Team Preview
Sunday’s second doubleheader encounter will witness a clash between second placed Mohun B. and third placed Goa. Three points can assure the second spot to Goa. Last season’s shield winner defeated the Red Miners 3-0 in previous game. Goa looked settled in Margao and dominated over Jamshedpur. Red Miners got an early chance in 12th minute but Naveen Kumar made a fine save. Alexander Romario Jesuraj came close to score for Goa but he failed to find his name on scoresheet. Jorge Ortiz played upfront instead of Igor Angulo and he scored a fine goal in 19th minute. Ortiz’s control continued but TP Rehenesh stood tall for the Jamshedpur. First half ended in favour of the Gaurs with one-goal lead. In the 52nd minute, Ortiz scored his first brace and Goa took 2-0 lead. Ortiz could have scored a hat-trick but Red Miners denied it. Rehenesh avoided the big scars but still, Goa controlled the game. After the cooling break, Naveen Kumar made another save to avoid any slight chance to Jamshedpur. Alex Lima was sent off in the 86th minute and three minutes later, Goa sealed the victory with ease as Ivan Gonzalez scored the third for Gaurs.
Goa would be delighted after the impressive performance from Naveen Kumar who played his first game in over a year. The Indian goalkeeper made five saves against Jamshedpur. Other thing which boosted Goa is Jorge Ortiz Mendoza’s performance who has scored four goals this season and the Spaniard could be a best possible partner with Angulo. The current form put Goa ahead and they are going to crack playoffs for the successive seasons.
Meanwhile, Mohun B. suffered its second defeat of the season and it came against the strong Mumbai. We have rarely seen Mariners not scoring a goal and conceding a clean-sheet and Mumbai edged past the champions to seal the top spot. Mumbai dominated the possession and Habas had no answer of this approach. Hugo Boumous and Hernan Santana set up chances for Mumbai. Desai offered a good cross to Boumous but Arindam Bhattacharya denied it. Ogbeche continued doing attack on Mariners’ defense and Manvir Singh almost sent the ball into his own goal but Arindam Bhattacharya pushed the ball.
Kolkata giants got a chance before the half-break when David Williams, Roy Krishna and Manvir Singh launched a counter-attack. Krishna almost succeed it but the referee blew the whistle considering that the Fijian had fouled Santana. Both sides failed to score in first half and Habas shifted to three-man backline in second half. In the 61st minute, Arindam Bhattacharya blocked the shot from Ogbeche. Mumbai didn’t wait for the lead and Ogbeche curled the ball inside the goal post. This solitary goal proved costly for Mariners and Mumbai secured three points. Habas shifted from 5-4-1 formation to 3-5-2 after a poor show in the first half. It didn’t work out and Mumbai netted a winner from a counter-attack. The Kolkata giants are now 5 points behind to Mumbai and they have to better its performance if they’re looking for the shield trophy and AFC Champions League qualification.
Possible Lineups & Current Form
Goa
Naveen Kumar; Seriton Fernandes, Ivan Gonzalez, James Donachie, Saviour Gama; Edu Bedia, Lenny Rodrigues, Alberto Noguera; Alexander Romario Jesuraj, Brandon Fernandes, Jorge Ortiz Mendoza
Current form: W D WW L
Previous match: 3-0 victory against Jamshedpur
Mohun B.
Arindam Bhattacharya, Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Tiri, Subhasish Bose. Carl McHugh, Sahil Sheikh, Edu Garcia, Prabir Das, David Williams, Roy Krishna
Current form: LW D W W
Previous match: 1-0 defeat against Mumbai
Key Players
Goa
Igor Angulo
9 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Jorge Ortiz
4 goalsin Indian Football League 2020-21
Mohun B.
Roy Krishna
5 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Manvir Singh
2 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
