FC Goa vs Jamshedpur FC: Red Miners emerge victorious in an eight-goal thriller | Hero Super Cup 2023
The Group C fixture between FC Goa and Jamshedpur FC produced an eight-goal thriller, with the Red Miners securing a 5-3 victory at the EMS Corporation Stadium in Kozhikode on Monday, April 10.
The tone of the game was set early on with the Gaurs dominating possession, while Jamshedpur FC were content to let their opponents have the ball in the defensive third.
But Jamshedpur’s plans were thrown out of the window in the seventh minute. Goalkeeper Rehenesh’s pass went straight to Iker Guarrotxena and the Spaniard teed up Noah Sadaoui. He calmly controlled the ball, deceived the defenders with a clever turn, and found the bottom corner of the net.
However, their lead lasted only four minutes as Jamshedpur equalized. Carlos Pena’s men have struggled to defend set pieces and their woes continued when Rafael Crivellaro's inswinging corner found an unmarked Pratik Chaudhari, who made no mistake in finding the net.
The Red Miners continued to look threatening on the counter-attack against an FC Goa defense that was vulnerable. Crivellaro was in the thick of the action and he threaded an inch-perfect pass, finding Boris Singh.
Boris’ shot was cleared off the goalline by Nikhil Prabhu but the referee awarded a free-kick near the edge of the box for an earlier foul on the winger. Crivellaro stepped up and placed the ball into the top corner to make it 2-1 in his side’s favor.
While Crivellaro pulled the strings for Jamshedpur, Sadaoui kept probing for FC Goa on the other end. He created a brilliant opportunity from the flank, but Devendra Murgaonkar, who arrived late into the penalty box, fluffed his effort from six yards out.
Towards the stroke of halftime, the Men of Steel doubled their lead. The Gaurs were guilty of allowing space in midfield, and this time, Pronay Halder received possession in the final third. His powerful effort appeared to be going wide.
However, in a moment of misfortune, Faros Arnaout’s trailing leg met the ball, diverting it past his goalkeeper and into the net. A gripping first half ended with Jamshedpur having a two-goal cushion.
FC Goa and Jamshedpur FC play out a highly entertaining second half
Jamshedpur FC began the second half with positive intent and scored their fourth goal of the night just 10 minutes into the second half.
Ritwik Das was largely anonymous in the first half but burst into life in the final 45 minutes. His dazzling footwork left Redeem Tlang on the ground and he set up Crivellaro with a perfectly weighted pass across the goal.
However, FC Goa pulled a goal back against the run of play around the hour mark. Brandon Fernandes’ floated cross from the byline found Guarrotxena, who scored a towering header past Rehenesh TP.
The end-to-end encounter had another twist, as the Gaurs halved the deficit in the 70th minute. Fernandes received the ball on the right flank before setting up Sadaoui’s second goal with a pin-point delivery to set up a thrilling final quarter of the game.
The pressure mounted on Aidy Boothroyd’s men as Goa continued to push for an equalizer. Substitutes Alvaro Vazquez and Brison Fernandes had excellent chances to level the game but failed to convert them.
They were made to pay for the missed opportunities, with Harrison Sawyer scoring Jamshedpur’s fifth goal of the game in the 80th minute to restore the two-goal lead.
They ultimately held on to the lead to start their Hero Super Cup campaign on a winning note.
The Guars will face Gokulam Kerala FC in their next outing, while Jamshedpur FC will lock horns with ATK Mohun Bagan.