FC Goa hold Al-Rayyan to a goalless draw in their first-ever AFC Champions League fixture at Fatorda Stadium, Goa. Juan Ferrando’s team put up a great fight against the Qatari giants.
FC Goa produced a spectacular performance against Al Rayyan coached by former PSG coach Laurent Blanc at bay for the full duration of the match. The Indian Super league deserves applause for the way they thwarted the opposition in the first half.
Goa’s Disciplined defending frustrated the Qatari side, Juan Ferrando would definitely be proud of the Gaurs. Goa are now going to face Al-Wahda this Saturday at 8 pm.
FC Goa 0-0 Al Rayyan SC: Team News
(4-1-1-4) were the choice FC Goa’s head coach Juan Ferrando for the Gaurs. Ferrando made 3 changes into the team which played against Mumbai City, and as expected Ishan Pandita started the match. A Khan and S Gama played as the center back and full back, and Fernandes stepped up in place of Noguera.
Al Rayyan were stuck to their (4-2-3-1) which is Laurent Blanc’s default formation for Al Rayyan. Blanc also made 3 changes in the team before facing FC Goa. Left back Muftah played in place of Jumaa, Masoud started in the midfield in place of Awad, and Brahimi in place of Maqsoud.
FC Goa 0-0 Al Rayyan SC: Match Analysis
Its have been a good outing so far, as Goa have snatched a point against Al rayyan.
As expected, Al Rayyan looked domiant since the beginning, creating best chnaces of the match with Yacine Brahimi leading the attack. FC Goa were also doing good in terms of keeping the possession and matching much superior Al Rayyan toe-to-toe at the beginning.
Al Rayyan creates a good chance at the beginning with a one-two between Brahimi and Masoud. But Dheeraj comes to the rescue and stops the attack. Al Rayyan were more aggressive and creating more chances but Goa’s defense were rock solid. After Half-an-hour of gameplay Goa and Al Rayyan had 50 percent of possession each.
Al Rayyani kept attacking and a shot by Aziz struck the crossbar. But the score line were still 0-0, and soon after first-half ended without much happening. It have been appreciable to see Goa kicking back into the match after the domination by Al Rayyani.
Goa started the second half with a spark in their eyes as they were lurking around the penalty area, but failed to cause any trouble. Al Rayyani created a lot of buzz as they were again on top of Goa. Every single player was defending except Ishan. Goa’s defense was stable but were forced back into their own half as Al Rayyani were notching the heat even further up.
In the 80th minute Seriton makes a brilliant challenge to keep the scores at bay as Dheeraj gave away the ball poorly with a sloppy pass, which Boli pounced upon. Seriton however, makes a brilliant challenge to deny him. After that nothing much happens except the last minute corner in favor of Goa.Howeve, The Gaurs fail to convert it.
The match ends up in a 0-0 draw as, both the teams share 1 points each.
Notable Performance
Romario: Was one of the best on the pitch as Goa’s best chance came out of his foot in the first half.
Edu bedia: The central midfielder showed his terrific control on the ball and gave example of his excellent leadership.
Glan Martins: The player who didn’t place a foot wrong in the match. With 6 interceptions and a passing accuracy of 83%.
The Gaurs are now going to face Al-Wahda this Saturday at 8 pm. In the group stage of AFC Champions League.
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