Super Cup 2018: Jamshedpur FC 1-5 FC Goa - 5 Talking Points
FC Goa are through to the semifinals of the 2018 Super Cup after a 5-1 win over Jamshedpur FC.
The match though was not even remotely as straightforward as what the scoreline suggests as a sterile affair early exploded like a lava-breathing volcano after one very controversial refereeing decision.
Here are the five talking points from the game.
#5 Referees get it wrong and chaos ensues
Here's the footballing part of it - Goa launched an attack as the seconds ticked away towards the end of the first half.
Brandon Fernandes set Coro up bang in front of goal, Coro scuffs shot horribly, Jamshedpur keeper Subrata Pal scrambles to prevent it squeaking into goal, palms it away, ball crosses the line, Brandon stops the ball, pulls it back into play, puts the ball in the back of the net and wheels away in celebration. Referee signals goal.
So, let's get the obvious out of the way first - the ball was clearly out. It was not even one of those borderline decisions, it was about 6 inches out of play. So the refs got this hopelessly wrong.
Jamshedpur were incredulous (understandably) that the goal was awarded because they'd seen the ball go out. They started surrounding the referee to express their outrage. Brandon and other Goa players pleaded their case saying the ball was in. All in all much confusion.
After over, five minutes, and pressure from the Jamshedpur players, the referee consulted his assistant and decided to rule the goal out. That set off the Goa players (again, understandably considering the delay) who were fuming that the referee had taken so much time and changed the decision. Tempers flared between both sets of players.
The correct decision was arrived at in the end; it would have been cruel to award that goal. But the consternation around the decision after such a delay after initially ruling it a goal was also understandable.
The drama also provided some comic moments though -
a) Pal grabbing Brandon by the arm and trying to get a confession from him about whether the ball went out.
b) Coro, in the midst of all the chaos, walked off and sat in the dugout. The refs didn't realize he was off the field and play continued for a minute before they realized it.
Truly, you could not have made this up. Blame Coro for it - he had a tap-in which he messed up, leading to all of this. Come on Coro!