ISL: Goa keep title race alive with 2-0 win against Kerala

Margao: FC Goa delayed Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s coronation as Indian Super League (ISL) winners by at least 24 hours with a fluent 2-0 win against Kerala Blasters FC at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, on Saturday.
Goals from Iker Guarrotxena (46’) and Mohammed Yasir (73’) solidified Goa’s position in second place with 42 points from 21 games.
Goa completed the double against Kerala this season after edging them out 1-0 in the first leg.
Goa are now second, seven points behind Bagan, but the Kolkata giants, overwhelming favourites for the title, can win the Shield with a win against Odisha FC on Sunday.
Kerala’s playoff hopes crumpled with a second straight defeat. They dropped down to tenth in the standings with 24 points.
Goa were expecting a strong start from the visitors and were defensive for the first 15 minutes. The home side slowly built up their game and created more chances in the first session, although none materialised.
Manolo Marquez’s side launched a series of attacks, one more dangerous than the other.
First, it was Carl McHugh, who saw his powerful header miss the target narrowly after a corner from Mohammad Yasir. Then, Udanta Singh came up with a promising run but his poor cross couldn’t find Iker. The Spanish forward found Dejan Drazic with a clever pass, but the Serbian attacker's close ranger was bravely saved by Kerala keeper Kamaljit Singh.
Before the break, Kerala and former Goa defender Aibanbha Dohling came up with a timely clearance before Iker could latch on to the ball.
The match came to life in the first minute after restart as Goa took their opponents by surprise with an early attack.
Dejan moved dangerously and unleashed a long ranger from the edge of the box. Kamaljit did well to thwart the effort but couldn’t stop the ball falling straight to Iker for an easy tap in.
Kerala tried to change their approach. Sandeep Singh came in place of Aibanbha, while Mohammed Aimen stepped in for Renthlei Lalthanmawia on the left wing.
Aimen soon sprang into action and came up with a dangerous cross that however missed Jesus Jimenez, the league’s second top scorer. The ball breezed across and onrushing Sandeep couldn’t keep his effort on target from a difficult angle.
Goa certainly wanted to inflate their tally and Manolo was about to replace Yasir for Brison Fernandes and Armando Sadiku for Dejan. But the team gave Manolo what he wanted before making the change.
In the 73rd minute, Iker was excellent in providing a low cross at the far end where Yasir did well to go all out and connect for the insurance goal.
It was a job well done for Goa and all they had to do was keep their focus in the final quarter.
In the dying minutes, Goa experienced some anxious moments when Iker suffered a head injury while trying to clear the ball in defence. He received immediate attention from Goa and Kerala medical teams and was back on his feet.
Goa next face Punjab away on Thursday and return home to take on Mohammedan SC in their final home league match on March 4. Goa take on Bagan in their final game of the league phase on March 8.