FC Goa 2-1 ATK: 3 Reasons why the Gaurs won the encounter | ISL 2019-20
FC Goa got the better of ATK 2-1 at Fatorda to catapult themselves to the perch of the ISL table. The visitors, on the other hand, were left licking the wounds of their first defeat since the opening day of the season.
The game started off at a high tempo with both sides looking to assert themselves on the encounter. However, the Gaurs settled a lot quicker as they got into their passing rhythm and kept pushing and probing for openings.
Yet, despite their dominance on the ball, the hosts failed to muster anything of note in the opening period as the teams went into the tunnel deadlocked at 0-0.
After the restart, Goa again hogged possession as they fervently searched for opportunities to put ATK to the sword. And, eventually, they nudged ahead in the 60th minute when Mourtada Fall rose highest to nod home Brandon Fernandes’ free-kick from the right flank.
ATK though, responded almost immediately, levelling through substitute Jobby Justin after a hint of indecisive goalkeeping by Mohammad Nawaz. However, in sync with the topsy-turvy nature of the encounter, Coro put the hosts in front a minute later when he turned in Hugo Boumous’ cross.
ATK tried their utmost to restore parity but couldn’t create anything substantial as Goa saw the game out expertly.
Here is a look at three reasons why the Gaurs managed to win.
#3 FC Goa dominate midfield
For the first time in quite a few weeks, FC Goa were able to call upon their entire complement of players, with Coro returning to lead the line. In midfield, Sergio Lobera continued with the established pairing of Ahmed Jahouh and Lenny Rodrigues as the home side looked to impose their identity on the game.
And, the Gaurs were quite successful as they kept the ball brilliantly for large periods of the encounter and consequently, exhausted the ATK players.
Akin to many a previous occasion, Jahouh and Rodrigues controlled the tempo of the game in the centre of the park with the pair mixing steel and style adequately.
While the Moroccan completed 60 passes and had 98 touches, the Indian hit the mark with his passes 46 times while also taking 67 touches. In contrast, Javi Hernandez and Sehnaj Singh had 37 and 30 touches respectively.
Additionally, the likes of Brandon Fernandes and Boumous dropped back into midfield regularly to create instances of numerical superiority and ensure that the visitors were starved of possession.
Most impressively though, the hosts’ midfield seemed extremely calm whenever put under strife by the intermittent ATK press.
Thus, through the course of the contest, the Gaurs had managed to outplay the away side in the middle third and that ultimately, set the platform for an important victory.