PANJIM: Even in the Indian Super League, football can still throw up some gloriously well-crafted contrasts. On a hot, humid night at the Fartoda Stadium ‘The Gaurs’ huffed towards their home victory on Thursday with a performance that started slowly, gradually gathered some impetus, and was rewarded when defender Gregory Arnolin’s thrilling late goal secured what looks like a vital 2-1 defeat of a classy, supremely well-drilled Kerala Blasters FC.
Gregory’s late header, was one of the few moments the Gaurs found any real space or attacking fluency in a slow-burn game. Gregory put himself about with some feeling. Mandar Rao and Romeo combined once or twice at speed in the inside-left channel. Even so, it was hard to avoid the feeling their positions might be better off reversed against this class of opposition. Darryl Duffy shone in the last few games. He uses the ball with greater care, has a greater range of pass and is a more mature footballer generally.
FC Goa may have hauled themselves back into a position of strength but the real story within the story here was the Kerala Blasters FC side of Peter Taylor who remain one of the ongoing mini-marvels of this season.
Kerala, was perhaps a little unlucky to lose after taking the lead and producing a fine away performance marked by an opening hour of wonderfully well-grooved passing and pressing football. At times in that opening period FC Goa were a mess; out-passed in midfield in between Darryl Duffy’s powerful surges; and disoriented at the back where Bikramjit Singh and Leonardo Moura took time to move the ball. .
For a while Kerala’s neatness felt like a lesson in team-play and well-seasoned method. But then, pretty much any team in the world will look like an underachiever if they played badly.
From the start the fans were a source of constant noise, unencumbered by anything other than boisterous fun of continuing to defy modern footballing logic. It is one of Goan football’s genuine white-knuckle success stories, a concoction of free agents, bargain cuts and loanees performing season after season.
Kerala were slick from the start, with Rafi a lovely, louche little conductor, always hungry for the ball.
In the 24th minute Kerala scored. Rahul Bheke produced the first chink of light, smuggling the ball through a tiny space to Rafi inside the area. His cross found Rafi unmarked and in space to head in the goal. Kerala’s collection of pressed men ran to celebrate together.
The lead was deserved. The visitors had started not just with precision and intelligence but with a tangible sense of hunger too.
FC Goa had their moments. Reinaldo should have scored in the first half, narrowly failing to connect in front of goal. But Moura continued to look the silkiest high-grade playmaker on the pitch. The Brazilian attacker spotted a ball deflected by Kerala Blasters FC goalkeeper Stephen Bywater and shot it to the top-left corner of the Kerala goal.
Few minutes to half time FC Goa flexed their shoulders and equalised. The goal was Moura made, the result of driving runs at the Kerala defence, the ball not so much dribbled but Brazilian attacker spotted a ball deflected by Kerala Blasters FC goalkeeper Stephen Bywater and shot it to the top-left corner of the Kerala goal.
After which there were moments when the game drifted. Zico’s tactics tend to fit the modern template for levelling the playing field against more powerful opponents, where running and high-pressure team play can always throw a grappling hook across the divide. Ultimately FC Goa’s superior individual quality told, that familiar will to win enough to overcome a lack of fluency. Gregory deserves credit for running to the end, as does Mandar, who was ruthless when it mattered. FC Goa are now in a good position to progress. They have a forward line still settling, not to mention a pair of centre-halves who can only – you would think – get better.
For the visitors – never mind the final score, this was still another significant night and FC Goa squad feels like an act of quiet footballing insurgency.
