ISL: FC Goa close gap with leader Mohun Bagan after 2-0 win over Chennaiyin

Iker Guarrotxena and Aakash Sangwan scored a goal each in the first half as FC Goa defeated Chennaiyin FC 20 in the Indian Super League ISL 202425 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Saturday night The Gaurs are placed second in the table with 33 points after this win cutting the gap with the toppositioned Mohun Bagan Super Giant 37 to four pointsThe loss also extended Chennaiyin FCrsquos winless run to six games having last tasted a victory in the ISL during their 10 win against Hyderabad FC on December 11 FC Goa held total control over this game keeping 58637 of the possession and taking eight shots on target as opposed to none of Chennaiyin FCGuarrotxena got FC Goa ahead in the game with his sharp awareness inside the sixyard box Following a corner Boris Singh received the ball on the right flank Boris curled in a cross that was mishandled by Chennaiyin FC goalkeeper Mohammed Nawaz Brison Fernandes lapped upon the chance but his shot ricocheted off the woodwork and Guarrotxena picked up the loose ball and hammered it into the high centre of the goal in the 11th minuteNawaz partly redeemed himself six minutes later as Aakash Sangwan burst into the box following a fast break by the Gaurs and shot firmly from a narrow angle on the left side Nawaz was forced to make an outstretched dive to get his hand at the end of the shot to save his side from conceding another strike Sangwan did get the better of Nawaz in the 26th minute though this time from an even more difficult angle The gameplay seemed straight out of the training ground of the Gaurs as Guarrotxena enabled them to build pressure on the Chennaiyin FC defenceAbruptly he broke that passage of play by making a backward pass to Carl McHugh Unmarked McHugh played a lobbed ball over the Chennaiyin FC backline for Sangwan who took a deft touch before castling the ball into the bottom left corner by beating Nawaz on the near postFC Goa stepped up the intensity following their second goal embracing a more proactive outlook in dabbling with multiple ways to test the Chennaiyin FC defenceGuarrotxena operated right down the middle and encountered a chance to triple the lead in the 31st minute In a pocket of space with no Chennaiyin FC players around him he unleashed a thunderous shot directed on target that had to be saved by Nawaz in the top centre of the goal Whilst the Gaurs orchestrated multiple incisive attacking moves Chennaiyin FC struggled to create meaningful chances FC Goa operated seamlessly in tandem from back to front with the defence building up attacks and the midfield propelling them to sustain that for reasonable periodsThe Marina Machans however had a chance to pull a goal back in the 69th minute Connor Shields the leading assist maker 8 in the league sprinted down the right flank before hurling in a cross for Wilmar Jordan Gil at the centre of the FC Goa box Wilmar got into a complicated position in his attempt to get the ball down He instead squared it up for Farukh Choudhary beside him With ample space to target the net Farukh ended up striking his shot way too high of the goalCoyle brought on Laldinliana Renthlei and Daniel Chima Chukwu for Lalrinliana Hnamte and Elsinho respectively in the 82nd minute The objective appeared to flood the frontline with more numbers in search of the goal and Daniel got to the end of an offensive sequence in the 85th minute but was flagged offside Sangwan continued to probe the Chennaiyin FC defence on the other side getting close to the goal from the left flank as he received a pass from Borja Herrera forcing Nawaz to make a save on the bottom left corner but FC Goa capped off the game with all three pointsFC Goa will play Jamshedpur FC in their next match on February 2 and Chennaiyin FC are set to square off against Kerala Blasters FC on January 30This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever