The stage was set. The Furnace was lit. The Gaurs were in town. All the supporters needed were three points to up the ante after four straight draws. But what followed was simply unprecedented! Jamshedpur FC put FC Goa to the sword and smashed four goals past them to register a 4 - 1 win on home soil.
Jamshedpur FC made wholesome changes to their backline for this game with Pratik Chaudhari, Robin Gurung and Bikash Jairu coming into the starting XI. Gourav Mukhi was also drafted into the team after a three-match hiatus.
The home side started the game on the front foot and were creating chances from as early as in the third minute. Gourav Mukhi was making inroads behind the Goan defence whereas Sergio Cidoncha and Michael Soosairaj were exploiting the space between the midfield and defence lines of FC Goa
Michael Soosairaj broke the deadlock in the 17th minute, latching on to a loose ball and scoring his second goal of the season. Chances after chances came for Jamshedpur FC but profligacy in front of goal eluded the second goal for the hosts.
FC Goa made Jamshedpur FC pay for their mistakes in front of goal by equalizing in the 33rd minute through Mourtada Fall. The defender headed the ball past Subrata Paul from a set-piece. In the first half, Jamshedpur FC managed 10 shots but went into the break with honours shared
The second-half saw more urgency and more incision from the Jamshedpur FC camp. Five minutes after the break, Sergio Cidoncha played Michael Soosairaj on who scored his second on the night through a deft finish past a diving Mohammad Nawaz.
After the second goal, Jamshedpur FC went into cruise control and were dominating possession and creating chances aplenty. From a corner in the 77th minute, the second ball fell kindly to Memo who used all his might to smash home Jamshedpur FC's third goal on the night. It was a thunderous finish from the midfielder to give the home side a much-needed cushion in the game
60 seconds later, Sergio Cidoncha orchestrated a sensational counter-attacking move by finding Carlos Calvo on the right through a defence splitting pass who then passed it on to Sumeet Passi. The young Indian striker had the easiest of finishes to score his first goal of the season.
Tim Cahill, who came as a substitute in the final 10 minutes of the game, also got on the act but his effort was deemed offside by the linesman. It was a dominating performance from Jamshedpur FC from start to finish with Cesar Ferrando's men deserving all three points on the night.
More than the three points, this victory was a statement of intent from the club to announce themselves as a firm top four favourite.
