Staff Reporter

Fatorda

FC Goa suffered their second successive defeat of the campaign going down 0-2 against NorthEast United FC at Fatorda Stadium.

NorthEast United scored through Tomi Juric and an Odei Onaindia own-goal.

FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez made two changes to the playing XI that started against Mohun Bagan Super Giant last week, as Nim Dorjee Tamang made his debut in orange while Borja Herrera replaced Noah Sadaoui in attack.

The match kicked off with Goa pushing early on, as Carl McHugh narrowly missed the mark with a header in the 4th minute. The home side continued to press forward, with Carlos Martinez and Brandon Fernandes orchestrating several promising attacks, only to be denied by resilient defending from the Highlanders.

Juan Pedro Benali’s men also proved dangerous on the counter, testing the Gaurs’ defence with swift movements. In the 10th minute, Nim came to Goa’s rescue, clearing the ball from in front of an empty goal to deny the opponents a clear scoring opportunity.

The teams headed into halftime deadlocked at 0-0.

Finally in the 69th minute, the Highlanders broke the impasse, with Tomi Juric converting from the penalty spot after being brought down in the box, giving them a strong boost heading into the final minutes of
the clash.

In the 79th minute, they doubled their lead, this time through Onaindia who put the ball into his own net while attempting to clear away a corner-kick.

Despite going two goals down, the Men in Orange continued to fight back. They threw the kitchen sink and more in search of at least a point and came close to scoring on a handful of occasions but was denied by Mirshad Koottappunna who enjoyed a good shift between the sticks for NorthEast United.

Following Wednesday’s defeat, FC Goa will hope to turn things around on Sunday, when they travel to Kochi to take on Kerala Blasters FC.

The Gaurs have eight more league matches remaining this season.