Player Ratings: North East United FC 1-3 FC Goa

FC Goa are placed second in the points table with seven points after victory over Northeast United(picture courtesy ISL)

FC Goa

Kattimani- 6/10

The young keeper played with a lot of confidence today although he did not have to face a lot of uneasy situations today. He could have organized his defense better when the North East attackers kept creating space for themselves in the last quarter of the game. Kattimani made a brilliant save from Valez diving low to his left.

Debabrata- 5.5/10

Debabrata was not up to the mark today. The experienced left back was beaten quite easily by Sanju Pradhan in the first half which eventually led to a cross that was converted by Dadzie. He struggled to keep the North East strikers at bay especially in the first half, with hardly any resistance to their attacks. The experienced defender improved his performance as the game progressed.

Arnolin- 6/10

Armolin did what he does best. He kept instigating Dadzie throughout the first half which frustrated the Ghanaian striker. Other than that, he was average defensively. The Frenchman was very poor at the end leaving out empty spaces for the North East United strikers to exploit.

Luciano Sabrosa- 6.5/10

The experienced Brazilian had to fill up a big gap in the squad replacing captain Lucio. The former Salgaocar centre-back did well in the heart of the defense. He was influential at the back for the Goa side. Luciano won a lot of aerial duels and never allowed the North East strikers to get space inside the box.

Kenan Almeida- 5.5/10

The full back remained anonymous throughout the match. Luckily the home team did not utilize the flank covered by him much or else it would have posed serious problems for Zico’s side.

Leo Moura- 7/10

One of the best performers in today’s game, he provided a brilliant through ball dissecting the North East defense for Mandar Rao Desai who slotted home the third goal for the away side. His sense of creating space was very attractive and Goa could have easily scored at least two more goals through his precision passes in the second half.

Jonatan- 6.5/10

Jonatan used his physical strength to his advantage winning a number of challenges near the Northeast United penalty area. He was solely responsible for the first goal of his team since he initiated and finished the whole move himself. Other than this, the 21-year-old midfielder took a couple of shots from long range which were handled comfortably by the keeper.

Bikramjit Singh- 5/10

Somehow he never really fit into the Goa side today. Starting the match as Denson’s replacement he was surely much fitter and worked hard defensively. But he kept losing possession whenever he moved up the field. He ideally requires a lot of confidence to improve in the coming matches.

Jofre- 8/10

Another stellar performance from the Spanish midfielder. It can be said now that it is because of Jofre that the Goa team has become more dangerous. Not only did he create the first two goals but he kept on providing attacking passes for the other players. Both defensively and on the offense he was brilliant. A deserving Man of the Match of today’s game.

C. Sabeeth- 6/10

The Indian striker started today with Desai left on the bench for the away side. Sabeeth kept the ball well while running at the defenders from the middle of the field. He made dangerous runs in the first half and was kept in check by the North East defense by using the offside trap.

Reinaldo- 6.5/10

Reinaldo scored the second goal for his team from absolutely nothing. He created his own opportunity through a weakly deflected ball and turned it into a peach of a finish. Other than the goal, he missed a number of sitters which frustrated Zico. The Brazilian could have easily scored at least two more goals today.

Substitutes

Mandar Rao Desai- 7/10

The winger came on as a substitute and his pace was too much for the tiring Northeast defense. Desai scored with a calm and composed finish from a defense splitting through ball from Moura within minutes of coming on as a substitute. He kept beating the full backs and created goal scoring opportunities for Reinaldo.

Duffy- 5.5/10

The Salgaocar striker finally got his chance to appear in the ISL as he was brought in right before the end of the match. Duffy kept the possession well with an intention to waste as much time as possible waiting for the final whistle. He could have scored a goal from Moura’s cross which was cleared by a last ditch header from Hengbart.