FC Goa outclassed hosts Delhi Dynamos 5-1 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Saturday to go on top of the table in the India Super League (ISL) season four.
Leading goal scorer of the season, Spanish forward Ferran Corominas (45th minute) scored his eighth to give FC Goa the initial lead which was followed by a brilliant 26-yard finish from fellow Spaniard Manuel Lanzarote (45th) within a fraction of a second, assisted by the first goal scorer.
The third goal for FC Goa came as an own goal from Pritam Kotal (84th) which was followed by Adrian Perez (85th) and Manuel Arana (88th) finding the net once each before the referee blew the final whistle.
For Delhi, skipper Kalu Uche (65th) scored the lone goal.
FC Goa thus went on top of the table with 12 points on the basis of superior goal difference while Delhi Dynamos remained on the ninth spot.
Delhi initiated the proceedings of the match by kicking the ball from left flank to right but failed to penetrate inside the box, easily giving away the ball to the visitors.
In the second minute, Delhi had a large shout appealing for penalty after FC Goa midfielder Ahmed Jahouh used his body to tackle opponent Jeroen Lumu. But the decision was eventually ruled in favour of the visitors by the referee.
FC Goa, on the other hand gave away too much of their possession in the initial minute after failing to pass the ball to their target.
However, the visitors came close to taking a lead in the 11th minute but a shot from winger Mandar Dessai from the 26-yard was denied by the crossbar.
The later minutes in the first-half saw Kotal and Romeo Fernandes combining well and creating chance but failing to convert it into a goal.
Delhi's strong defence was exposed by the end of the first half when FC Goa's Corominas took a shot from inside the box which was first saved by the opponent goalkeeper Sukhadev Patil but was later netted by the Spanish on the re-bound due to poor clearance and lack of appearance.
Later, in no time, Lanzarote doubled the lead for FC Goa, after a home team player lost the ball which was struck from outside the box and finished in the top corner.
FC Goa took a 2-0 lead heading to half-time.
In the second half, FC Goa coach Sergio Lobera substituted Corominas to bring in debutant Perez.
Delhi looked to keep the ball but again failed to find the crucial touch to impose threat on the opposition while FC Goa looked comfortable on the possession.
However, in the later minutes, Delhi passed and combined well with Romeo providing a clean cross inside the box and Uche making no mistake to net the ball home.
Delhi, after reducing the deficit, caused more troubles for themselves in the 66th minute after they were shortened to 10-man with Italian defender Gabriel Cichero handed a second yellow card for holding Mandar with his heels.
The shortage of a player affected Delhi with Kotal gifting the third goal to FC Goa with his poor defence and lack of awareness about his goalkeepers' position.
Later, Perez and Arana scored one goal each in similar fashion dancing away from the sloppy Delhi defence and netting the ball past the goalkeeper.
The dying minutes saw the hosts clearing and blocking the ball every time it entered their box.
--IANS
sam/tri/vd
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