Victors emerge. F.C Goa clinches Durand Cup.
October 3rd, Salt Lake stadium and 30,000 fans. The stage was set for the enthralling Durand Cup final between F.C Goa vs Mohammedan Sporting. The match was always expected be an electrifying matchup as it was between an ISL team and I-league contenders. The teams cut out each other in almost all aspects and because of that no team allowed the other any clean chances. Sporting’s performance was worth the praise as they are also participating in the Calcutta football league and had disciplinary issues with three players. Their attacker Marcus Joseph is a fan favourite, and the team relies heavily on Nicola Stojanovic for midfield control, but two players really showed for the final. Young players like Brandon Vanlalremdika and Azharuddin Mallick were critical to their tournament and had a good final.
For 90 minutes the teams battled it out, with sporting getting very close when they did score but it was disallowed as there was interference during the build up to the goal. Though both the teams began with attacking intent, they failed to keep possession for longer durations. Marcus Joseph hit the first shot in just 3 minutes. FC Goa’s Romario had the best chance of the half when the Mohammedan defence was completely foxed by a cross from Sanson Pereira from the left flank. However even after a decent look he sent the shot wide of the post. Bedia directed the pace and possession in the midfield along with Alberto Noguera, as was expected from them, but performances by Murgaonkar, who scored five goals, and Nemil would be the biggest takeaways for Goa.
F.C Goa went into the final unbeaten when the I-league team stretched them to extra time and penalties were nearing the captain pulled on the reins and scored a screamer from 25 yards out. The freekick curled in towards goal and ricocheted off the goalkeeper and defence before rolling into the net. After that Goa threw everything at Sporting and defended their goal with all might. Goa skipper Edu Bedia’s clutch performance won his team the oldest tournament in Asia. The Durand Cup crown also marked FC Goa coach Juan Ferrando Fenoll’s first-ever trophy on Indian soil.
Sporting coach Andrey Chernyshov has built a formidable unit and that shows in their performance. They stretched an experienced squad till the very end and made great chances along the way which they had to materialize from nothing. It was an exciting final and lived up to the expectations.
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