ISL, Dec. 11: FC Pune City vs FC Goa: All Things Considered

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MATCH INFORMATION

FC Pune City 2-0 FC Goa

KICK-OFF: Dec. 11, 7.30PM IST [GMT +5.30], Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex.

Channel; Streaming: Star Sports HD1, 1, 3; Hotstar, Jio TV.

MATCH PREVIEW

FC Goa will seek to regain lost ground on the table when they go up against FC Pune City at the Balewadi Stadium. Unusually for FC Goa, they were unable to score in the draw against ATK – they had scored in every game prior to this tie.

They lost to Bengaluru before the ATK game and with no league fixtures in the past two weeks, they are now fourth in the league with a game in hand over the league leaders Bengaluru FC.

Tonight as always, Goa will rely on the league’s top goalscorer and creator Ferran Corominas to lead them to three points. Edu Bedia has been prolific as well and the Moroccan Ahmed Jahouh has been solid in midfield. The Indian players Seriton Fernandes, Mandar Rao Desai and Brandon Fernandes have all contributed to Goa’s free-scoring campaign

FC Goa outclassed Pune City at home in the reverse fixture earlier in the season in a game where Coro got a brace, assisted with two goals and got himself sent off. If they are able to replicate some of that form, they should be able to see off Pune City comfortably.

Pune City registered their second win and their first clean sheet of the season against Kerala Blasters and finally got off the bottom the table in their previous game.

With Marcelinho and Ashique Kuruniyan fit again after being withdrawn in the game against Kerala, Pune have a fighting chance. 

Goa have scored the most goals this season and Pune have the dubious distinction of letting in the most. Matt Mills in defence and Adil Khan in midfield will have to be at their very best to keep Goa at bay.

Tonight, FC Pune should try and take advantage of Goa’s vulnerability on the break. Considering they have a mix of youth and experience on the attacking front with Iain Hume back in the scheme of things, this game has the potential to be a goal-scoring rollercoaster.

STARTING XI

MATCH STATS

FULL-TIME: FC Pune City 2-0 FC Goa

90’+5 GOAL! 2-0 [Marko Stankovic, Penalty, FC Pune City]

74′ GOAL! 1-0 [Marcelinho, FC Pune City]

MATCH REPORT

FC Pune City put the brakes on a free-scoring FC Goa and picked up a win at the Balewadi to move up a notch on the table.

Goa dominated possession and had shots on goal throughout the match, but were wasteful. A combination of poor finishing, too many shots taken from outside the box and Pune’s Matt Mills and Adil Khan putting their bodies on the line kept the Gaurs at bay.

Looking through the xG lens reveals Edu Bedia, Hugo Boumous, Ahmed Jahouh had a number of shots on goal with Edu Bedia and Ahmed Jahouh both hitting the post from outside the box. 

Coro took a low few percentage shots on goal, but nothing came off it. He setup chances for his teammates when ideally he could’ve taken a shot. Tonight’s game marks the third match Coro hasn’t been on the score sheet and unsurprisingly, Goa have lost two and drawn one of those games.

Playing three at the back with Nim Dorjee Tamang and Ashique Kuruniyan playing as auxiliary fullbacks, Pune City were dogged throughout the game and hacked and blocked everything Goa threw at them.

And any shot Goa had on target, Kamaljit Singh brushed it away.

Their hard work paid off eventually when Marcelinho’s fantastic strike from outside the box put them in the lead in the 74th minute. A second game to seal the deal in stoppage time came from a Marko Stankovic penalty. 

FC Pune City move into seventh place after picking up a second win in a row. As far as Goa are concerned, they are in a bit of a rut and their current fourth place play-off position in the league looks in jeopardy.