Panaji: FC Goa got back to winning ways in the third season of the Hero Indian Super League following a 1-0 victory over FC Pune City at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune. With the team struggling with form through the tournament, Zico’s charges found themselves at the bottom of the table at the halfway point in the league. The team was in a similar spot of bother in the first season of the Hero ISL but managed to turn things around in the second half with stunning performances. They remained unbeaten and marched into the semi-finals. Fast forward to 2016 and the Gaurs will have to achieve something similar to mirror that feat.
Co-owner of FC Goa, Virat Kohli has been actively following the team’s exploits and constantly sends messages of support for his side. Having watched the Gaurs dismantle the FC Pune City defence, the Indian test skipper was evidently happy with the performance and took to social networking platform, Twitter to express his delight. He tweeted: Great defending today. It doesn’t take time to turn the tide to winning for @FCGoaOfficial.
Zico stressed on the importance of getting the win against Pune and his side looked like they were up for it from kick off. Zico returned to an all foreign back line with Gregory Arnolin returning to the heart of the defence and was flanked by Luciano Sobrosa and promising youngster Rafael Dumas. The combination worked well right from the start as the back line thwarted every Pune effort at their goal. Additionally, Zico brought back Laxmikant Kattimani into the starting 11 and the Goan shot stopper did not disappoint. Striker Rafael Coelho was a live wire on the pitch and netted a superb curled free-kick at the near post to beat, arguably one of the best goal-keepers in the Hero Indian Super League.
With the win, the mood in the camp has suddenly lifted with the players believing that they can turn it around. Influential midfielder Joffre also praised the effort of his teammates and said that they came out with a mind-set to win. “Only one place we could go from where we were and that is up. We know that every game for us right now is a must win and we came out ready to fight for the cause. I think we played a really good game. Everyone was up for it. The only regret is that we didn’t score more goals. I think we can qualify for the knockout. We are not out of this tournament yet. We have shown spirit and courage and I think if we continue this way, we can go on and qualify,” he explained.
Kohli is a passionate sportsman and hates to lose. His performances for every team he plays in are testament to the fact and he wants the Gaurs to emulate this passion and go on a winning spree.
