Jhingan, Victor lead FC Goa to comeback win over East Bengal
Goa, October 21, 2023: A goal in the second half each by Sandesh Jhingan and Victor Rodriguez helped FC Goa beat East Bengal FC 2-1 in their first away match of the ISL 2023-24 season at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on Saturday.
Naorem Mahesh Singh netted for the hosts before the Gaurs produced a solid comeback to take home the three points.
Earlier in the day, FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez named a starting XI with no changes compared to that in their previous clash, a win against Odisha FC. Sandesh Jhingan and Odei Onaindia headlined the defence, Carl McHugh and Raynier Fernandes lining up in the midfield and Carlos Martinez playing up front.
It, however, did not take long for misfortune to strike the visitors, as star winger Noah Sadaoui got ruled out of the clash due to injury. With this happening minutes before kick-off, Victor Rodriguez replaced him in the starting XI.
The early stages of the first half saw both teams playing out an end-to-end game of football, creating chances at will and exchanging possession in phases. It took until the 40th minute for East Bengal to find the breakthrough, thanks to a strike by Naorem Mahesh.
The Indian international received the ball from Nandhakumar Sekar on the right and fired in a curler that nestled in the top right corner of the net.
An inspired second half performance once again by the Gaurs
Despite returning to the dressing room at half-time with a goal’s deficit in the scoreline, FC Goa kept their composure and started the second half well, attacking right from the get-go.
Skipper Brandon Fernandes won a free-kick for the Gaurs in the 51st minute, but had to leave the pitch soon after following an injury due to a foul on him by Borja Herrera.
The introduction of Rowllin Borges and Boris Singh made it easier for the Men-in-Orange to dictate play from the midfield, but a lack of bite in the attacking third continued to hamper their progress. Things then changed for the better in the 74th minute, when Sandesh Jhingan took matters into his own hands.
With a thumping header past goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, the centre-back registered his first-ever ISL goal, in his 132nd appearance in the league. A minute later, Gill was picking the ball out of his own net once again, this time following a sublime finish by Victor Rodriguez.
Having turned the match in their favour within just two minutes, FC Goa settled into the game all the more comfortably and enjoyed keeping the ball. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Cleiton Silva caused a slight scare with his free-kick, but the Men in Orange kept their calm to hold on to their lead till the final whistle.
Manolo Marquez’ boys are now the only side apart from Mohun Bagan Super Giant to start their ISL season with a hat-trick of victories, and are now in second place on the league table only on goal difference.
About FC Goa
FC Goa is a professional football club based out of Goa that competes in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL). Nicknamed the Gaurs, FC Goa has been one of the most consistently successful teams in the ISL – reaching 4 semi-finals and 2 finals in 9 seasons.
Heading into the 2023-24 season of the Hero ISL, FC Goa hold the record for the most goals, joint-most golden boots and most number of playoff appearances (6 in total) in the history of the competition.
In 2020, FC Goa also became the first team from India to qualify for the league stages of the AFC Champions League, by virtue of winning the first-ever Hero ISL League Winners Shield in the 2019-20 season.
The Gaurs’ trophy cabinet is further adorned by the 2019 Super Cup, the 2018-19 Goa Pro League, the 2020 Goa Police Cup and the 2021 Durand Cup.
Co-owned by Mr Jaydev Mody, Mr Akshay Tandon and Mr Virat Kohli, FC Goa is one of the few Indian clubs to have a complete youth development ecosystem. Its U13, U15, U17, U18, U20 and Developmental Teams compete at the highest levels in Goa and India.