Gaurs Remain at the Bottom of the Table After Loss to Delhi Dynamos FC

PANAJI:
FC Goa went down 5-1 to an efficient Delhi Dynamos FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi in their penultimate game of a disappointing campaign. The Gaurs opened the scoring through Fulganco Cardozo in the 31 st minute but their lead was short lived as Marcelinho dragged the hosts level a few minutes later. Delhi turned on the heat in the second half as Marcelinho completed a hat-trick while Badara Badji scored a superb brace. The loss ensures that Goa stays at the bottom of the table irrespective of their result in their final match.
The hosts started the brighter of the two sides knowing that a win would virtually ensure qualification to the
semi-finals. Marcelinho, Florent Malouda and Richard Gadze began to cause the Goan defence all sorts of
problems. Gadze could have had the opener as early as the 7 th minute but his shot was blocked. Two minutes later, Marcelinho found himself in acres on space down the right but his right footed effort went into the side netting. The Gaurs seemed to hold firm in defence for the first fifteen minutes as they kept the prolific Delhi front line from scoring. The Gaurs looked content to play from defence and hit the Dynamos on the counter.
Marcelinho had a chance to open t
he scoring again in the 20 th minute via a free-kick but Laxmikant Kattimani got behind the ball and made a comfortable save. Goa had their first chance on goal thereafter in the 21st minute after Sahil Tavora broke through the defence, cut in from the right and hit a low shot with his left foot but the goal keeper just about deflected it wide for a corner. Moments later, Julio Cesar put in a superb cross to the far post towards Fulganco Cardozo but the Goan player’s header across the box was too high for Reinaldo. It was a good chance for the Gaurs. The away side began to exert a measure of pressure on the Delhi defence which has been fairly leaky this season but they were prone to the counter-attack as a result which Delhi were fully prepared to take advantage of.
However, against the run of play, the Gaurs found themselves a goal to the good. A superb through ball from
Reinaldo found Julio Cesar on the left who skipped past the goalkeeper and hit a low shot goalwards from a
tight angle. The goalkeeper was able to keep it out but the rebound was tapped in by Fulganco Cardozo who
scored his first goal of the season. The home side then began to get into the groove as Kattimani was called on three times to make saves from Gadze and twice from Marcelinho to keep his side in the game. Unfortunately for the Gaurs, their lead didn’t last long. Delhi won a free-kick close to the edge of the box and a superbly practiced training ground moved paid off for the home side. Malouda played a low ball down the line for Marcelinho who made a diagonal run. No defender picked him up and he was able to slot it past a helpless Kattimani to bring the home side level. From the restart Marcelinho races down the right again and hangs a cross to the far post but to no avail. As the half progressed, it looked increasingly likely that the away side would score once more. Gadze nearly did that right at the death after he got to a loose ball in the box but he wasn’t able to turn and shoot cleanly which helped Kattimani close down and collect the ball as the referee blew for half-time
As expected, the hosts started the second half on the front foot and it didn’t take long before they were
ahead. Marcelinho accepted a pass from Souvik Charaborty, skipped past Richarlyson with ease and unleashed a fierce drive that was too hot for Kattimani to handle. Three minutes later, Delhi were 3-1 up. Richard Gadze collected the ball, ran at the Goa defence and shot at the near post as the ball beat Kattimani and sent the Delhi fans into raptures. It all began to fall apart for the Gaurs in the second half. Marcelinho seemed to be on fire. He completed his hat-trick soon after Gadze’s goal after he picked up a diagonal ball from Tebar, took on Debabrata Roy and powered a right footed effort past the goalkeeper. Just a minute later, Gadze was on a hatrick as he muscled his way past the defence and tapped past Kattimani. The Gaurs seemed to be clueless as Delhi went on a rampage.
Zico responded to the barrage of goals by throwing on Rafael Dumas for the ineffective Richarlyson to shore up the defence. Trindade Goncalves was also brought on for Pratesh Shirodkar not long later as the Gaurs struggled to create chances. Gadze was denied a chance to score a hat-trick after Gianluca Zambrotta
withdrew him for Badara Badji. The away side looked at ease through the second half as they kept possession and passed the ball around without too many issues. The Gaurs were forced to play catch up but were unable to conjure anything. Marcelinho was taken off for Bruno Pelissari for the last ten minutes. Delhi almost scored a sixth goal after a superb solo effort from Kean Lewis who ran at the defence and unleashed a shot towards the far post. The ball just about clipped the post and deflected wide. That would be the last notable piece of action in the match as Goa were unable to create any chances of their own. Not long later, the referee called the contest to a halt.
Reflecting on the game, Zico said, “We played against Kolkata just a couple of days ago and I had to rotate my squad. This set of players haven’t played too often with each other. We played well in the first half and held them. But they were much superior to us in the second period. Additionally, since we cannot qualify now, there is not motivation for the boys.”
The loss condemns the Gaurs to the foot of the table while Delhi are all but through to the semi-finals. FC Goa now return to Goa for their final match of the campaign which pits them against Chennaiyin FC in a repeat of the 2015 finals at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda.