Odisha holds Goa to 1-1 draw

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha FC held on to seal a 1-1 draw against FC Goa in the Indian Super League at the Kalinga Stadium on Monday, despite being a man down for the final quarter of the match.

First-half goals from Goa’s Noah Sadaoui and Odisha’s Diego Mauricio had set up a big second half for the two play-off contenders who will, nonetheless, likely be happy with a result that did not damage either of their prospects.

Goa got off to the perfect start when Sadaoui put it ahead in the second minute. Alvaro Vazquez picked up the ball in midfield as Odisha was looking to push forward, and found Sadaoui with a through ball on the left side of the box. Odisha’s defence was spread out and tracking back as the forward found time to compose himself and drive the ball past Amrinder Singh’s left hand.

Odisha did manage to create the better chances from there on, often from the left with Isak Ralte being its outlet. Goa defended narrowly and in numbers for the majority of the half until Isak was fouled a few yards outside the box. Mauricio stepped up to take the resulting free-kick and powered a curler that was too much for Dheeraj Singh, who was leaping to his right.

Goa nearly went back into the lead before the end of the half, with Sadaoui and Vazquez switching roles on this occasion. Sadaoui’s cross from the left flank found the striker who had beaten his marker, but he got his glancing header just wide.

The two combined yet again in what was an electric period of end-to-end football early in the second half. Sadaoui played the ball to Vazquez, who found the back of the net before he saw the flag raised for offside. In the next minute, Nandhakumar Sekar put in a perfectly weighted cross that found Saul Crespo’s head, only for Dheeraj to pounce to his right and save.

Goa then managed to get the ball out to Sadaoui, whose long shot was straight at the keeper. Odisha was forced to slow things down in the 67th minute, when left-back Sahil Panwar picked up a second yellow for a challenge from behind. With no major attacking push coming from Goa, the home side made a spate of positive-minded substitutions in the 81st minute, shortly after Amrinder had made a crucial save off Hernan Santana’s shot.

While these substitutions did not translate into chances for Odisha, the host did not face any substantial threats to its goal until the end of the game, barring a free-kick from Brandon Fernandes that went over and a deflected long-range shot from Santana.

RESULT: Odisha FC 1 (D Mauricio 43) drew with FC Goa 1 (N Sadaoui 2)