ISL 2015: Reinaldo saves the day for Goa against NorthEast
A late goal from Reinaldo canceled out Victor Mendy's opener as FC Goa and NorthEast United played out a 1-1 draw at the Fatorda Stadium. The Highlanders have climbed up to fourth spot in the league table with the sole point earned, as they head into the business end of the season.
Both the managers made a host of changes to the starting line-up they used in their last games. Cesar Farias started with his marquee player Simao Sabrosa, while FC Goa striker Reinaldo made his first start since recovering from an injury.
NorthEast came close to taking an early lead when they won a corner in the 5th minute. Simao produced a dangerous delivery and Goa goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani was caught in no man's land while trying to punch the ball. The ball reached NorthEast defender Carlos Lopez, but his goal-bound header was cleared off the line by Leo Moura.
Two back-to-back injuries forced both the sides into making early substitutions. NorthEast replaced Francis Dadzie with newly-signed Victor Mendy, while Zico had to replace Raju Gaikwad with Debabrata Roy, in the 20th and 26th minute of the match respectively – incidentally, both would go on to have a massive impact on the outcome of the match.
Despite dominating most of the first half, NorthEast failed to grab a lead in the first half, and both the teams went into the half-time break tied at 0-0.
The away side threatened from a corner once again in the 47th minute, when Cedric Hengbart struck the post with a thunderous header from Simao's corner.
Jonatan Lucca came close to scoring at the other end with a long range effort that brought the best out of NorthEast custodian TP Rehenesh.
NorthEast took their deserved lead in the 56th minute when Victor Mendy headed in a corner from Simao Sabrosa. The midfielder climbed above Jonatan Lucca with a tremendous jump and kept his powerful header down to find the back of the net.
Reinaldo, however, equalized for Goa in the 80th minute. Debabrata Roy did well to win the ball in the midfield and then floated in an accurate cross for Moura in the box. The Brazilian playmaker layid the ball off for Reinaldo with a delightful cushion header and the striker found the far corner with a stinging drive.
The match ended 1-1 and NorthEast will be the happier side with this result. They are into the top four and have two home matches in their last two games of the league stages. Goa, on the other hand, look safely placed at second spot in the table, but will finish the league phase with two away games which could prove to be tricky.
