The score line was as surprising as it was exciting and rare. Few of the thousands of FC Goa fans who thronged the stadium at Fatorda and the lakhs of others who sat at home, or with friends, to watch the Indian Super League (ISL) match live on television on Tuesday evening could have anticipated the result. FC Goa, playing at home on a cool November evening, managed to push the ball into their opponent’s goal seven times in one match, sending the fans at the Fatorda Stadium jumping up from their seats every time a goal was scored. So too did the reserve players, the coaching staff and the team owners every time the fireworks were heard at the stadium. This was the highest score in the ISL since its inception last year and after FC Goa’s average display of football in the past matches, this was a score line that was least expected. Besides, at this level of the game one doesn’t see a team so comprehensively crushed as Mumbai City FC was beaten on Tuesday night.
This league has had an unpredictable nature. There have been surprise victories and upsets, with every team having won some matches and lost others. So unpredictable has the league been till now, that just about a month ago, FC Goa playing at home had been convincingly beaten by Chennaiyin FC 4-0, silencing the home crowd in the stadium. In the return match in Chennai, FC Goa beat the home team by two goals. And that, the unpredictability, is what has added a zing to the league making it all the more exciting.
On Tuesday night, FC Goa fans might have returned home satisfied, as did the coach and the team, but the league is far from ended. This one big win will put added pressure on the boys in blue, as the expectations from them have now risen higher. If until now the fans had hoped that FC Goa would make it to the final, the talk from Tuesday night onward is of winning the league, as the team is suddenly seen to have a killing quality. The team has to now deliver. And the team management knows just how hard it will be to meet the expectations.
In the midst of the euphoric celebrations, at the post-match press conference, FC Goa coach Zico made a revealing statement. He said, “We haven’t won anything yet. This was just one game. It won’t be remembered if at the end we fail.” The statement didn’t place a dampener on the celebrations, but it served as a reminder that the ultimate prize is still a long way away, a month away during which the team has to play four more league games and then, once they qualify, the semi-finals on a home and away basis, and should it qualify, the final in Goa.
With those statements, Zico reminded his boys and the fans that the team is playing not for a record goal margin, that is always welcome, but playing to win the league. FC Goa missed the ultimate prize last year when they were knocked out at home in the semi-finals on penalties causing a lot of heartbreak. That is perhaps what Zico was thinking about when he addressed the media after the match against Mumbai FC. He has to now ensure that his players are prepared for the bigger battle ahead.
FC Goa is at the top of the table, but it has yet to qualify for the semi-finals. Given the unpredictability of the league anything can happen. Though the team’s position is strong it cannot take the next few matches lightly. It has only one more home match, playing three away matches. But few will be worried, for when the Gaurs are charged up anything can happen, even a 7-0 score that sets a record for the highest score.
