The 40th game of ISL 3 was a tough one. Mumbai City was clearly the better side leading up to the match but Goa was resilient and kept them out for the duration of the ninety minutes.
With attacking prowess in the form of marquee player Diego Forlan, Sunil Chhetri and Sony Norde, Mumbai was a shew in to win but was perhaps surprised by the Gaurs’ determination to stay in the game.
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Mumbai had countless opportunities to score but with Forlan and Chhetri registering absolutely no touches of the ball inside the opposition’s box in the first half, it was quickly clear that the two sides would have to fight it out until the very end.
Also read: ISL 2016: FC Goa 0 - 0 Mumbai City FC - 5 talking points
Zico’s side should be heartened to go away with a point although they will also feel they could have come away with all three, Mumbai should be more concerned about how they failed to score when they were statistically the better side on the pitch.
After a goalless draw, here are the player ratings for both teams:
FC Goa
Kattimani – 8/10
If Goa were unlucky not to win, they were also lucky not to lose thanks to their keeper Kattamani. He kept Mumbai out and made some last-minute crucial saves that could have sounded the death knell for his team.
Keenan Almeida – 5/10
Almeida was booked early in the game, in fact just five minutes in, for a foul on Norde and had to tread carefully as Goa already had a bad history with bookings. Zico played it safe and replaced him with Trindade around the hour mark.
Gregory Arnolin – 7/10
Arnolin was well up to the task of keeping all of Mumbai’s star-studded attacking line-up out. While he was a pretty reliable figure in Goa’s backline, he made a hash of a headed clearance which went straight to Norde. Luckily for him, the Haitian missed and Goa lived to play another day.
Raju Gaikwad - 7/10
Raju made very important clearances throughout the night and held on to a clean sheet for his team. He made an exceptional interception of a long ball that could have caused problems for Goa. He also did well to cut off a long pass and clear the ball.
Debabrata Roy - 7/10
Debabrata had a good game as he kept Defederico frustrated all night. He was there to intercept and block every time the Argentine delivered a ball forward. He was substituted with 30 minutes of the game left to play in favour of Joffre.
Sanjay Balmuchu – 5/10
Balmuchu’s impact on the game was limited and provided little for his teammates. His replacement in the 68th minute, Julio Cesar was a much better addition to the team.
Richarlyson – 5/10
Goa’s set piece specialist had a few hits and misses as he delivered his team’s corners and free kicks. He otherwise had a tough time influencing the game in his team’s favour and was outplayed by Chhetri on a few occasions.
Romeo Fernandes – 6/10
Romeo had a good night going forward and worked well in partnership with Rafael. He kept up a constant supply of great deliveries to his teammates that fell flat in the final third.
Mandar Rao Dessai – 6/10
Mandar displayed great instincts and forced the opposition defenders into sticky situations. He was fast on the counter and provided some real chances to score for his fellow Goa teammates.
Rafael Coelho – 7.5/10
Coelho was named ‘Hero of the Match’ and it’s no wonder why. The Brazilian was heavily involved in his team’s build-up to try and score. He was tireless all night and was really unfortunate to have nothing to show for it.
Robin Singh – 5/10
It was another frustrating night for Robin Singh who was isolated for much of the night or just not forward enough to make anything of his teammates’ deliveries. His worst moment of the night was when he missed from three yards out with just a quarter of the game left to play.
Substitutes
Joffre – 6/10
Joffre came on for Debabrata Roy and his presence made Goa the far more threatening side in the closing minutes of the game. He saw a shot of his blocked and also made an important tackle in a dangerous position in his own half.
Trindade – 5/10
Trindade came on for Keenan and tried his proverbial hand at a shot on goal. However, his attempt was so bad he might as well have not bothered.
Julio Cesar – 8/10
Julio Cesar came on for the injured Sanjay and immediately gave new life to Goa’s attack. In fact, he was so effective, supporters must have been wondering why he wasn’t put on sooner. He had a few clear chances on goal especially the one in injury time that Amrinder Singh did well to keep out.
Mumbai City
Amrinder Singh – 8/10
Amrinder Singh had a good night as he commanded his penalty area and did a good job of keeping any attempts from the Goa players at bay.
Khongjee – 6/10
Khongjee was forced into making a few errors but did well to recover. He showed some good defensive acumen early in the first half when he muscled Mandar off the ball. He was taken off in the 51st minute and replaced with Anwar Ali.
Gerson Vieira – 7/10
Gerson put in a solid performance at the back for Mumbai but he will rue the missed opportunity when he could have put his team ahead in the second half. He rose unchallenged to meet a cross from Forlan only to head it over the bar.
Lucian Goian – 7/10
Goian was a rock in Mumbai’s defence and did his share of the work impeccably. He kept Zico’s men at bay and did particularly well to hold Joffre out around the 70th minute.
S. Ralte - 6/10
Sena Ralte looked good going forward but some of his deliveries thereafter were grossly miscalculated. He conceded a few set pieces but Mumbai was lucky not to incur any damage from it.
Sehnaj Singh – 5/10
The midfielder could have had a better night as he struggled to hold his own in midfield. In fact, he was quite rash at times trying to deal with the likes of Romeo and Rafael.
Vadocz – 6/10
Vadocz had a good rapport with Sunil that seemed dangerous but he could make very little of his opportunities. He made a vain attempt to score in the second half that was ridiculously off target and the Hungarian seemed to berate himself for not passing it to teammates who were in better positions.
Defederico - 6/10
Defederico showed a few signs of life early in the game but struggled to get past Goa's Debabrata as the game progressed. He was eventually replaced by Cafu to give Mumbai's attack a fresh lease of life.
Sony Norde – 7/10
The Haitian showed some pretty impressive movement with the ball. He was an elusive target that kept skipping past defenders. However, his finishing was not up to the mark. His deliveries were inaccurate on many occasions and some of his shots were horribly miscalculated.
Sunil Chhetri – 8/10
The Indian skipper suffered in the same vein as Norde. He missed two crucial chances, actually slipping on the ball on one occasion and failed to give his team the much-deserved lead. Despite all his hard work, this will be one of those games he’d rather forget.
Diego Forlan – 8/10
Forlan is a great marquee player to have around with his impressive work rate. Never hesitant to fall back, Forlan kept the ball moving forward from midfield and provided a slurry of chances for his team. He was unlucky himself not to score and will be disappointed his team didn’t win tonight.
Substitutes
Anwar Ali – 6/10
Anwar Ali’s towering presence proved to be an advantage for Mumbai in the second half especially after Goa introduced Joffre on the pitch. He kept the Spaniard at bay at moments when he looked threatening.
Cafu – 6/10
Cafu came on for Defederico to add new blood to Mumbai’s attack. He pulled a halfway decent shot through three defenders and it went only slightly off target.
Thiago Cunha – 5/10
Cunha came on for Norde in the 80th minute and didn’t feature much.
