Guwahati, August 26: FC Goa (FCG), the 2021 champions, advanced to the semi-finals of the 132nd Durand Cup, defeating Chennai FC (CFC) 4-1 in the third quarter-final at the Indira Gandhi Sports Stadium here on Saturday.
After Bikash Yumnam opened the scoring for Chennaiyin FC early in the 5th minute, three of the foreign players under contract with FC Goa scored one with Carl Mushugh scoring one and setting up another, Noah Sadoy scoring his fifth goal of the tournament, Carlos Martinez his third and Victor Rodriguez . He scored the final goal of the match.
Alexander ‘Sandy’ Stewart was in charge of Marina Machan’s squad that day and made as many as six changes to the squad that played their final group game against Delhi FC.
Among those who started were Rahim Ali and Italian midfielder Christian Patocchio. Sarthak Goloui also made his CFC debut. The Gaurs, captained by Jouramanji Singh, went one better with seven goals, bringing Dheeraj back into goal and Brandon into midfield, keeping Rolin Borges on the bench among others. Also starting for Goa was new signing Carl Mchugh.
Marina Machan’s side scored early when Akash Sangowan’s corner kick flew high at the far post, and central defender Bikash Yumnam headed it in with a powerful header.
After the goal shocked them, the Gowers team responded strongly and Carlos Martinez almost equalized, but he hit the crossbar with a header. Then Odanta missed a shot from close range.
They had to wait until the half hour mark to finally reach the level conditions. Odanta and Brandon played an exchange of passes on the right flank, after which the former sent a cross that Noah headed back in front of the six-yard box from the far post.
Muchugh was on hand to put it past Chennaiyin goalkeeper Samik, to score his first goal on his debut for his new club.
Noah almost put Ghawar ahead a few minutes later, again behind a cross from Odanta at the far post, but this time with Samik the only one getting the better of it, the header missed.
The return was completed with a jewel from another new signing, Spaniard Carlos Martinez Rodriguez. Odanta, who was shooting the ball on the right side, sent another dangerous ball, which was cleared by Sarthak.
But it only reached nearby Sangguan, which it failed to capture and fell to Carlos. The experienced Spanish striker touched the ball with his back to the goal, then crossed Sanjuan in and slammed the ball into the goal with the goalkeeper in front, daring a shot over the keeper.
Stewart replaced Sacho Sippy, who had found Noah Saadawi too hot to handle, with Ajith at the break, aware of the constant threat the American posed. Italian Patuccio was also replaced by Jettishore Singh in the midfield.
Chennaiyin started more aggressively in the second half. Savior Gama was booked for trying to stop one of CFC’s dangerous forays by Jordan Murray before the hour mark.
Then Stewart involved Vince Barreto in place of Raheem Ali in search of the equalizer. The Gaurs also opted for a double change by going down Rollin and Jay Gupta in place of Sever Gama and Reynier Fernandez. After that, Bikash Yunam was injured, and Romario Gisuraj replaced him in the ranks of Marina Machan.
Chennaiyin’s pressure continued as Dheeraj made a superb save to deny Murray the scoring in the 72nd minute. Stewart made his final move bringing Irrfan Yadawad on for Farrukh Chowdhury. The Gowers team responded by involving Boris and Victor Rodriguez instead of Odanta and Carlos Martinez in the 78th minute, in a clear indication that they did not take advantage of any opportunities.
A free kick taken by Ayush Sangowan on goal was saved by Dheeraj again. The Gaurs then made their final substitution, taking out Seriton and bringing on Leander D’Cunha.
The nail was finally driven into CFC’s coffin, however, when Carl Mchugh provided an assist in the first minute of extra time, finding Noah’s run inside the penalty area, who dropped it beautifully to fire past Samic with a cornering shot.
The CFC guard was then hit for the fourth time when Burris put him in Victor’s path two minutes later. The substitute produced a superb first touch to leave his marker behind and slam a left-footed shot into the top-left corner of the Chennaiyin net.
It was a masterwork for the Gower family and an unforgettable evening for Marina Machan’s family.
Source: IANS
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