Goa and Mohun B. will battle out for the first time in Indian Football League 2020-21 after a promising start to the new season. Goa got its winning momentum back, while Mohun B. had two tough games after securing three consecutive wins.
Match Timings: Dec 16, 7:30 PM IST
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Goa are back on the track after winning two straight games against Kerala and Odisha. They have notched up eight points from five games, and three more points can help them upstage Mohun B. In the previous game, they managed to get three points against Odisha through a clinical Igor Angulo strike during stoppage time in the first half. Romario delivered a good pass to Angulo. He took a touch and confudedJacob Tratt before sending the ball past Arshdeep. Angulo is now a leading goalscorer of this season with six goals. Nobody would have expected that someone will fill the place of former Goa midfielder Ferran Corominas this season, but Spaniard has provided the big relief with the top-notch performance this season.
Goa dominated the first half with more possession. In the 64th minute, Saviour Gama played a superb cross to Angulo, and Arshdeep saved it with his left foot. Goa could have done the scoreline 2-0. Jorge Ortiz was excellent in his role as the Spanish winger troubled the Odisha full-backs. He was denied to score a goal, but the consistency could deliver him a goal for sure in the next couple of games.
Brandon Fernandes has given his best and proved why Goa’s attack is dull without him. Along with Ortiz, Fernandes is becoming a key asset to Goa in midfield. Goa moved to fourth in the table after a recent success over Odisha, but slipped to six after Bengaluru and Jamshedpur's recent victories. Juan Ferrando would be confident of surprising Habas’men with the players like Brandon Fernandes, Igor Angulo, and Ortiz.
Meanwhile, Mohun B. dropped points in consecutive games. After suffering a defeat to Jamshedpur, they were held for a draw with Hyderabad. In both games, the opposition team played dominant football, and Habas need to improve their errors. They are known to play hard in the second half with better substitutes on the ground, but it was missing in both games. The Mariners opened the scoresheet with Manvir Singh’s strike in the second half, but Manvir Singh become a villain in few minutes as Hyderabad got a penalty through him in the 64th minute. Joao Victor took the advantage and scored an equaliser for the Nizams.
Before these two strikes, the first between two was pretty intense, and Habas’s men failed to send the ball past Subrata Paul. Hyderabad’s goalkeeper was excellent in the entire game. For the first time this season, Roy Krishna did not find his name on the scoring sheet. Hyderabad missed out on finding any winner, but the Mariners were dominated in the second half, and Habas would avoid this problem against Goa.
Possible Lineups & Current Form
Mohun B.
Arindam Bhattacharya; Prabir Das, Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Sumit Rathi; Bradden Inman, Glan Martins, Carl McHugh, Edu Garcia; Manvir Singh, Roy Krishna
Current form – D L W W W
Previous outing – 1-1 draw with Hyderabad
Goa
Mohammad Nawaz, Seriton Fernandes, James Donachie, Ivan Gonzalez, Saviour Gama, Lenny Rodrigues, Alberto Noguera, Alexander Romario Jesuraj, Brandon Fernandes, Jorge Ortiz, Igor Angulo
Current form – W W D L D
Previous outing – 1-0 victory over Odisha
Key Players
Mohun B.
Roy Krishna
4 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Manvir Singh
2 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Goa
Igor Angulo
6 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Brandon Fernandes
2 goals & 7 assists in the last edition
