Goa: Jamshedpur FC crashed FC Goa’s aspirations to secure a semi-final berth with a 1-0 win over the Gaurs in the 2021-22 Indian Super League (ISL). With this win, Owen Coyle’s men move to second place in the league table but Derrick Pereira’s men are stuck at ninth place, now four games without a win.
The lone goal came from Daniel Chima Chukwu on 49 minutes who scored on his first match for the Men of Steel after signing for them from SC East Bengal, in the January transfer window.
The match began eventfully as Daniel Chukwu sent his left-footed shot narrowly wide off the mark. On the other end, it was Ivan Gonzalez,whose header hit the underside of the crossbar. The rebound fell in the path of Edu Bedia whose low shot was then brilliantly saved by TP Rehenesh. The Gaurs produced more subsequent attacks at the JFC defense but could not open the scoring.
The first half was very eventful and fiesty, which led to three yellow cards being handed during the opening 45 minutes. Alex Lima, Anwar Ali and Daniel Chukwu respectively received the bookings. In the second half, JFC started pushing for a goal and they got the only goal of the match through the debutant Chukwu.
His volley was too powerful for Naveen Kumar. The goalkeeper got both hands on the ball but still could not contain it, as it slipped into the back of the net. Ali came close to equalizing for the Gaurs, but the ball did not reach the net in after it hit the crossbar for the second time. At 80th minute, Airan Cabrera’s left-footed volley also struck the crossbar for the third time for the Gaurs.
Derrick Pereira made quite a few changes in order to get back into the game but despite creating a plethora of chances, the equalizer did not come for FCG. FC Goa will next face Odisha FC at the Athletic Stadium while Jamshedpur FC will clash against an in-form Bengaluru FC.
