ISL 2016: FC Goa 0-0 Mumbai City FC - Player ratings
The 40th game of ISL 3 was a tough one. Mumbai City was clearly the better side leading up to the match but Goa was resilient and kept them out for the duration of the ninety minutes.
With attacking prowess in the form of marquee player Diego Forlan, Sunil Chhetri and Sony Norde, Mumbai was a shew in to win but was perhaps surprised by the Gaurs’ determination to stay in the game.
Mumbai had countless opportunities to score but with Forlan and Chhetri registering absolutely no touches of the ball inside the opposition’s box in the first half, it was quickly clear that the two sides would have to fight it out until the very end.
Also read: ISL 2016: FC Goa 0 - 0 Mumbai City FC - 5 talking points
Zico’s side should be heartened to go away with a point although they will also feel they could have come away with all three, Mumbai should be more concerned about how they failed to score when they were statistically the better side on the pitch.
After a goalless draw, here are the player ratings for both teams:
FC Goa
Kattimani – 8/10
If Goa were unlucky not to win, they were also lucky not to lose thanks to their keeper Kattamani. He kept Mumbai out and made some last-minute crucial saves that could have sounded the death knell for his team.
Keenan Almeida – 5/10
Almeida was booked early in the game, in fact just five minutes in, for a foul on Norde and had to tread carefully as Goa already had a bad history with bookings. Zico played it safe and replaced him with Trindade around the hour mark.
Gregory Arnolin – 7/10
Arnolin was well up to the task of keeping all of Mumbai’s star-studded attacking line-up out. While he was a pretty reliable figure in Goa’s backline, he made a hash of a headed clearance which went straight to Norde. Luckily for him, the Haitian missed and Goa lived to play another day.
Raju Gaikwad - 7/10
Raju made very important clearances throughout the night and held on to a clean sheet for his team. He made an exceptional interception of a long ball that could have caused problems for Goa. He also did well to cut off a long pass and clear the ball.
Debabrata Roy - 7/10
Debabrata had a good game as he kept Defederico frustrated all night. He was there to intercept and block every time the Argentine delivered a ball forward. He was substituted with 30 minutes of the game left to play in favour of Joffre.
Sanjay Balmuchu – 5/10
Balmuchu’s impact on the game was limited and provided little for his teammates. His replacement in the 68th minute, Julio Cesar was a much better addition to the team.
Richarlyson – 5/10
Goa’s set piece specialist had a few hits and misses as he delivered his team’s corners and free kicks. He otherwise had a tough time influencing the game in his team’s favour and was outplayed by Chhetri on a few occasions.
Romeo Fernandes – 6/10
Romeo had a good night going forward and worked well in partnership with Rafael. He kept up a constant supply of great deliveries to his teammates that fell flat in the final third.
Mandar Rao Dessai – 6/10
Mandar displayed great instincts and forced the opposition defenders into sticky situations. He was fast on the counter and provided some real chances to score for his fellow Goa teammates.
Rafael Coelho – 7.5/10
Coelho was named ‘Hero of the Match’ and it’s no wonder why. The Brazilian was heavily involved in his team’s build-up to try and score. He was tireless all night and was really unfortunate to have nothing to show for it.
Robin Singh – 5/10
It was another frustrating night for Robin Singh who was isolated for much of the night or just not forward enough to make anything of his teammates’ deliveries. His worst moment of the night was when he missed from three yards out with just a quarter of the game left to play.
Substitutes
Joffre – 6/10
Joffre came on for Debabrata Roy and his presence made Goa the far more threatening side in the closing minutes of the game. He saw a shot of his blocked and also made an important tackle in a dangerous position in his own half.
Trindade – 5/10
Trindade came on for Keenan and tried his proverbial hand at a shot on goal. However, his attempt was so bad he might as well have not bothered.
Julio Cesar – 8/10
Julio Cesar came on for the injured Sanjay and immediately gave new life to Goa’s attack. In fact, he was so effective, supporters must have been wondering why he wasn’t put on sooner. He had a few clear chances on goal especially the one in injury time that Amrinder Singh did well to keep out.