Jamshedpur FC

Jamshedpur finally came back home to play (after 3 away matches) FC Goa for the 38^th fixture of the ISL 2020-21 season. The Red Miners went head-to-head with the Gaurs for the 7^th time. The Goan Gaurs lost two consecutive matches in a row while the Red Miners stood undefeated in their last 6 games. Jamshedpur entered the pitch with the aim to win the clash and keep their undefeated streak intact whilst FC Goa entered the game looking to end their winless drought tonight.

The clash began with high intensity and energy with both teams eager to get their opening goal to acquire an early advantage over the opposition. Jamshedpur unloaded a couple of attacks on the Goan side with danger knocking on the door for FC Goa; Aniket showcased his skills and beat his marker to cross the ball to the other Jamshedpur attackers but Edu Bedia blocked it. The first opportunity came for Goa as Igor, with an accurate pass, invaded the Jamshedpur box to net the opening goal but Eze came to the rescue; he flicked the ball off Igor’s foot which dispossessed him, and evaded the danger.

Jamshedpur, who were hungry for the opening goal, finally netted their first goal with an acrobatic tap-in from the defender, Stephen Eze. Aitor lobbed the ball into the box looking to find the end of a Red Miner’s foot or head. The ball flew to the far post when Eze ran towards the ball and stretched his foot to get a touch on it. He successfully connected his foot on the ball which went right through the keeper’s gloves, thus giving Jamshedpur the required edge over FC Goa. And that’s how the first half of #JFCFCG came to an end.

As the second half commenced, Aniket almost netted a second for Jamshedpur. After a lovely dribble that took Aniket past the Goan defenders, he took a shot at goal. Unfortunately, it got blocked by the FC Goa keeper and right when Jamshedpur were settling in with the lead at hand, FC Goa got awarded a chance to equalize the score with a penalty; Alex put a rough challenge inside the box and the referee pointed straight to the spot. The top scorer for the Gaurs, Igor, stepped up to take the penalty and equalized the score. With the scores now levelled, Goa pushed harder to take a quick lead with multiple attacks aimed at the Jamshedpur box, but the defensive line kept blocking them all out.

As the match came to its final moments, FC Goa got threatened with another close call. Alex smacked the ball on target but the ball caved into the goal after hitting the woodwork. The ball bounced inside the goal line which should have counted as the second goal for the Red Miners, but the referee did not approve of it. Just as both teams thought the match would conclude in a draw, the visitors scored a late goal via a corner taken by FC Goa. Igor, who had already scored the first goal, came to the rescue yet again with a slight flick with his head and the ball went in the back of the net. FC Goa bagged a late advantage and snatched the 3 points right away from Jamshedpur’s hands.

And that’s how the night ended for Jamshedpur with FC Goa climbing up to the 5^th position while Jamshedpur dropping down to the 6^th position in the league table.