ISL 2022-23: East Bengal 1-2 FC Goa: Player ratings as Edu Bedia's late goal breaks the hosts' hearts
FC Goa left it late to register a 1-2 victory over East Bengal at the Salt Lake Stadium on Wednesday, October 12. A stoppage-time winner from Edu Bedia gave Carlos Pena his first victory of the campaign and as the Gaurs' manager.
Alvaro Vazquez's looping ball caught the right side of the East Bengal defense asleep and reached Brandon Fernandes. He beat a defender before dunking it over the goalkeeper to drive the visitors to an early lead in under 10 minutes.
The goal was followed by a couple of opportunities for the Gaurs in the first half. Brandon acted as a creative outlet and nearly procured an assist by setting up Redeem Tlang, who failed to hit the target from two yards. Vazquez's thunderous strike from an improbable angle was tipped away to safety by East Bengal keeper Kamaljit Singh at the 38-minute mark.
East Bengal started the second half on a positive note and procured their much-deserved equalizer through Cleiton Silva's spot-kick in the 64th minute. Chances were at a premium for both sides until Edu Bedia's free-kick proved to be decisive in the 94th minute.
FC Goa registered their first victory of the 2022-23 Indian Super League season and it was back-to-back defeats for Stephen Constantine's East Bengal.
We shall look at player ratings from East Bengal and FC Goa.
East Bengal player ratings
Kamaljit Singh (6/10): Easily the best goalkeeper on the pitch, Kamaljit Singh had a decent outing by making saves and using his fists to clear the ball away.
Sumeet Passi (4/10): The India international failed to put a foot right throughout the first half as he struggled to contain Brandon Fernandes. He was substituted at half-time.
Chungnunga Lal (5/10): The centre-back was nowhere to be seen for the first goal as he was dragged out of position.
Ivan Gonzalez (5.5/10): Ivan Gonzalez's lazy attempt to intercept the ball resulted in the first goal for his former side. He did not provide the assurance East Bengal needed throughout the game.
Jerry Lalrinzuala (7/10): Jerry's delicious pass to pick out Suhair resulted in the latter being taken out by the goalkeeper which resulted in a penalty. The left-back looked assured defensively and made some crucial interventions and clearances.
Souvik Chakrabarti (5/10): Souvik Chakrabarti was underwhelming throughout the game. He gave the ball away cheaply and struggled to impress Constantine for the second time this campaign.
Jordan O'Doherty (6.5/10): The midfielder came close to scoring in the second half with a thunderous strike from the edge of the penalty box. His tireless display helped his side regain the ball on numerous occasions.
V.P. Suhair (7/10): Suhair's determination to make the run behind Goa's defense resulted in a penalty. He was eventually tripped by Dheeraj Singh before Silva converted coolly from the spot.
Alex Lima (5.5/10): Apart from an early attacking move, Alex Lima was barely involved in the game and failed to cause any sort of trouble to the Gaurs backline.
Cleiton Silva (7.5/10): Cleiton Silva put in the captain's performance by trying to make things inside the penalty box, but had no support. The Brazilian stepped up to the plate from the spot to level the score in the second half.
Substitutes:
Sarthak Golui (7/10): Brandon Fernandes was unable to find space behind the right flank of the East Bengal defense once Sarthak came on. He stood strong and made life tougher for Goa.
Naorem Mahesh Singh (6/10): Naorem struggled to penetrate into Goa's defense and had minimal effect on the game.
Mobashir Rahman (6/10): Similar to Souvik, Mobashir was not able to influence the play in the middle of the park.
Charalambos Kyriakou (N/A): He was hardly involved after coming on.
Thongkhosiem Haokip (N/A): He was on the field for a few minutes and did not have anything to do.
FC Goa player ratings
Dheeraj Singh (4/10): Dheeraj Singh had a night to forget despite the victory. The young Indian shot-stopper conceded a penalty and missed numerous high claims.
Seriton Fernandes (6.5/10): Seriton Fernandes had yet another solid outing and contributed to the team defensively and offensively.
Anwar Ali (7/10): A solid start to the campaign, Anwar Ali will be pleased with his display. The Indian centre-back's ability to play out of the back helped FC Goa on numerous instances.
Marc Valiente (6.5/10): The centre-back's aerial prowess helped Goa make crucial interceptions at the back. Pena will be hoping that his partnership with Anwar will come to fruitition.
Aibanbha Dohling (6/10): Although Suhair caused him some trouble at times, Dohling kept his cool and mostly dealt with those situations well.
Glan Martins (5.5/10): The reliable Martins struggled to put his foot on the accelerator and was sloppy in midfield before being replaced in the second half.
Edu Bedia (8/10): He was so close to squeezing in an audicious Olympico goal but Kamaljit parried the ball to safety. The set-piece expert returned to life once again when his peach of a delivery troubled the goalkeeper and hit the back of the net in stoppage time. He controlled the position and was the best midfielder on the pitch.
Iker Guarrotxena (6/10): Iker's role was restricted until Vazquez was subbed in the second half. The Spaniard made runs inside the penalty box and kept Gonzalez and Lal on their toes.
Redeem Tlang (5.5/10): Tlang will be disappointed with that open goal miss in the first half. He failed to divert the ball into the goal. He did not contribute much to Goa's attacks.
Brandon Fernandes (8/10): FC Goa's skipper delivered when it mattered the most by keeping his cool to open the scoring. His ability to link up play between the midfield and forward line meant that chances were coming at regular intervals.
Alvaro Vazquez (7/10): Alvaro Vazquez's determination to constantly make runs behind the defense, drag the defense to wide areas, pickout passes and take shots whenever appropriate was causing havoc to the hosts' defense. His sublime delivery to pick out Brandon for the first goal helped the Gaurs course.
Substitutes:
Ayush Dev Chhetri (6.5/10): Ayush was solid in defense and contributed to Goa's resilience in the end.
Makan Chote (6/10): Replacing Redeem through the right wing, Makan was unable to impress his manager Pena.
Devendra Murgaonkar (N/A): He came on as a substitute in the 87th minute for Brandon Fernandes.
Fares Arnaout (7/10): Fares was brought into defensive action after East Bengal pressed hard for a winner. He won aerial and ground duels.
Noah Sadaoui (6.5/10): Noah Sadaoui did not score the winning goal, but his run and presence in front of the goalkeeper blindsighted the keeper before the ball went inside the net for the winner.