Five Star FC Goa put ATK to the Sword at Fatorda

PANJIM:
A rampant FC Goa took a huge step towards qualification for the semi-finals with an emphatic 5-1 victory over defending champions ATK at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Three goals in the first 21 minutes from Sergio Juste and a brace by Lanzarote effectively ended the game. Top scorer Ferran Corominas scored his 16th goal of the season in the second half and youngster Mark Sifneos scored his first goal in FC Goa colours at the 90th minute mark, taking his tally to 5 for the season.
It was a cagey start for the home side who struggled to get control of the ball in the opening period as ATK looked to dominate possession. Chinglensana Singh’s poor clearance in the second minute almost present Sibongakonke Mbatha with a chance but Naveen Kumar was alert to the danger and raced off his line to collect the ball.
The away side were struggling to make their early dominance count as the Gaurs began to slowly get into the game. Mbatha was played down the right wing one more time by Robbie Keane and the South African charged towards the byline before crossing low towards Keane who continued his run.
However, Juste got in the way to clear the danger. At the other end, Lanzarote received the ball on the right, nutmegged a defender and then attempted to loop a cross towards Hugo Boumous at the far post. The pass however, was a tad over hit and evaded Boumous who chased it, evaded the challenge of Prabir Das and looked to curl the ball in from a tight angle.
The ball deflected out of play for a corner. Boumous stepped up to curl it at the near post where Juste rose the highest to glance it past Soram Poirei at the far post to give the Gaurs an important lead. Robbie Keane had the chance to restore parity almost immediately when he was sent clear down the middle but Juste did well to get back in time and prevent the Irishman from shooting.
The Gaurs though, doubled their lead in the 15th minute after some brilliant play, punishing the away side for not taking their chances. On the counter, Hugo ran down the middle, turned and played Narayan Das through who in turn found the run of Mandar Rao Dessai on the left.
The Goan winger cut the ball back and looked to curl a low shot into the far post. His shot though, was parried by the ATK goalkeeper straight into the path of Manuel Lanzarote who calmly trapped the ball and smashed it past the Indian goalkeeper.
Two became three only six minutes later as the Gaurs began to tear ATK apart. Pronay Halder took possession of the ball in the centre of the park, looked up and released a fantastic long pass towards Lanzarote running down the right.
The Spaniard darted into the box, cut the ball back on to his stronger left foot and curled a shot past the diving Poirei to send the Fatorda faithful delirious. The constant wave of white pouring forward was getting incessant as ATK, in their black away strip struggled to cope.
The home side sensed the chance to make it four goals and as such marauded forward with great intensity. Ferran Corominas almost found the run of Lanzarote in the 38th minute which would have sent the Spaniard clear but he was unable to thread the ball past Ashutosh Mehta who just about read the play and intercepted the through ball.
As the first half petered to a close, the Gaurs should definitely have added a fourth after Lanzarote found himself with time and space in the box. He took his time to find Coro at the far post who trapped the ball and fired it goalwards but did so straight at the goal keeper who made the stop easily. Coro should have done better to score his 16th of the season. At the other end, Mbatha had time in space after being played in but shot high and wide as the referee called for time on proceedings.
The away side reacted to the first half deficit by bringing on Zequinha and Keegan Pereira for Shankar Sampingraj and Ashustosh Mehta respectively in a bid to restore parity to proceedings. However, it was the Gaurs that started this period better. Boumous was brought down by Rupert Nongrum in a good position just outside the box.
Lanzarote stepped up looking to curl the ball into the far corner but was unable to control it as the ball sailed wide. The Gaurs attack prowess was relentless as ATK were constantly pushed behind.
In the 59th minute, Lanzarote spotted the goalkeeper off his line and attempted to lob him from near the half line. Luckily for the Bengal side, the ball sailed inches wide of the crossbar. ATK had a half chance to pull one goal back a minute later after neat interplay between Mbatha and Zequinha saw the latter cross for Keane at the near post. The former Tottenham man’s diving header flew just wide of the near post.
At the other end of the pitch, Anwar Ali was lucky to escape with only a yellow card for a foul on Coro after he was played through. The striker however, picked himself up and curled the free kick past the wall and into the net, leaving Poirei rooted to the spot as the Spaniard notched his 16th goal in his debut campaign.
Despite being up by 4 goals however, the Gaurs weren’t satisfied. Boumous and Coro missed a couple of chances in quick succession which would have added to the misery that ATK found themselves in. The Gaurs made their first change thereafter, bringing on Bruno Pinheiro for goal scorer Sergio Juste while ATK brought on former Gaur Robin Singh for Jayesh Rane. The substitution provided a little impetus for the struggling visitors and presented Zequinha with a shooting opportunity from close range after a scramble in the Goan box. Unfortunately he hit his shot straight at Naveen who made the stop.
Sergio Lobera then brought off Coro for youngster Mark Sifenos in his second change. The home side began to take their foot off the pedal a little bit and invited the pressure in a bid to counter attack ATK. Keane was presented with a couple of chances after good work from Zequinha and Mbatha but wasn’t able to convert either.
FC Goa’s final change saw youngster Liston Colaco take the field in place of Mandar. The away side however, did get a late consolation goal after Zequinha’s cross evaded Seriton in the box and fell for Keane who gave Naveen the eyes and tucked it in with a deflection off the near post.
Naveen was moving the other way before he dived in the opposite direction but couldn’t get a hand to it. It was a soft goal to concede for the Gaurs who would have wanted their second consecutive clean sheet. As the game headed for a finish, the Gaurs added a fifth just as the clock struck 90.
A long ball forward was inadvertently knocked back by an ATK defender and Sifneos chased it down and netted comfortably at the far post. The Gaurs really should have had a sixth deep into stoppage time after Liston Colaco’s brilliant run saw his cross for Boumous.
However, the Moroccan delayed his shot and laid it to Sifneos who couldn’t sort his feet in time. The ball came off a defender’s leg to Lanzarote but the Spaniard couldn’t wrap his right foot around the ball to curl it home and secure his hatrick. That was the last action of the match as the referee called for time on proceedings immediately afterwards.
The Gaurs will travel to Jamshedpur to take on Jamshedpur FC in their final league match of the season knowing that a win or a draw will help them secure their place in the knockout round of the competition.