ISL: Diego Mauricio equaliser keeps Odisha in play-off race

Odisha
FC
held
on
to
seal
a
1-1
draw
against
FC
Goa
in
the
Hero
Indian
Super
League
(ISL)
at
the
Kalinga
Stadium,
Bhubaneshwar,
on
Monday,
despite
being
a
man
down
for
the
final
quarter
of
the
game.
First-half
goals
from
Noah
Sadaoui
and
Diego
Mauricio
had
set
up
a
big
second
half
for
the
two
playoff
contenders
who
will,
nonetheless,
likely
be
happy
with
a
result
that
didn’t
damage
either
of
their
prospects.

FC
Goa
got
off
to
the
perfect
start
when
Sadaoui
put
them
ahead
in
the
second
minute.
Alvaro
Vazquez
picked
up
the
ball
in
midfield
as
Odisha
FC
were
looking
to
push
forward,
and
found
Sadaoui
with
a
through
ball
on
the
left
side
of
the
box.
Odisha
FC’s
defence
was
spread
out
and
tracking
back
as
the
forward
found
time
to
compose
himself
and
drive
the
ball
past
Amrinder’s
left
hand.

Odisha
FC
did
manage
to
create
the
better
chances
from
there
on,
often
from
the
left
with
Isak
Ralte
being
their
outlet.
FC
Goa
defended
narrowly
and
in
numbers
for
the
majority
of
the
half,
offering
very
little
for
the
hosts
to
breach,
until
Ralte
was
fouled
a
few
yards
outside
the
box
towards
the
end
of
the
half.

Mauricio
stepped
up
to
take
the
resulting
free-kick
and
powered
a
curler
that
was
too
much
for
Dheeraj
Singh
leaping
to
his
right.

FC
Goa
nearly
went
back
into
the
lead
before
the
end
of
the
half,
with
Sadaoui
and
Vazquez
switching
roles
on
this
occasion.
Sadaoui’s
cross
from
the
left
flank
found
the
striker
who
had
beaten
his
marker,
but
got
his
glancing
header
just
wide.

The
two
combined
yet
again
in
what
was
an
electric
period
of
end-to-end
football
early
in
the
second
half.
Sadaoui
played
Vazquez
through,
who
found
the
back
of
the
net
before
he
saw
the
flag
raised
for
offside.

In
the
next
minute,
Nandhakumar
Sekar
put
in
a
perfectly
weighted
cross
that
found
Saul
Crespo’s
powerful
header,
only
for
Dheeraj
to
pounce
to
his
right
and
save.
From
there,
FC
Goa
managed
to
get
the
ball
out
to
Sadaoui
whose
long
shot
was
straight
at
the
keeper.

This
pace
to
the
game
temporarily
came
to
a
stop
as
Odisha
FC
were
forced
to
slow
things
down
in
the
67th
minute,
when
left-back
Sahil
Panwar
picked
up
a
second
yellow
for
a
challenge
from
behind.

With
no
major
attacking
push
coming
from
FC
Goa,
the
home
side
made
a
spate
of
positive-minded
substitutions
in
the
81st
minute,
shortly
after
Amrinder
had
made
a
crucial
save
as
Hernan
Santana’s
shot
came
through
a
crowded
penalty
box.

While
these
substitutions
didn’t
translate
into
chances
for
Odisha
FC,
they
also
didn’t
face
any
substantial
threats
to
their
goal
until
the
end
of
the
game,
barring
a
free-kick
from
Brandon
Fernandes
that
went
over
and
a
deflected
long-range
shot
from
Santana
that
Amrinder
kept
his
eyes
on.

The
result
put
Odisha
FC
level
on
matches
with
Bengaluru
FC,
but
a
point
behind
sixth
place,
while
FC
Goa
remain
in
fourth.
Odisha
FC
stay
at
home
to
face
Hyderabad
FC
on
Friday,
while
FC
Goa
head
back
home
to
face
Mumbai
City
FC
on
Saturday.