Goa: It has been tough, but it’s now nearly at an end. After several twists and turns in what has been a rocky ISL campaign so far, FC Goa are gearing up for battle, for one last time. They will take on playoff hopefuls Kerala Blasters on Sunday, and will attempt to end their season on a positive note with a rare win.
Currently, in ninth place with just 18 points, the Gaurs have won only four games so far this season. They were in a similar situation only once before – in 2016, which is also the only other time when the Men in Orange did not qualify for the playoffs in their history.
Kerala Blasters, on the other hand, are enjoying what is probably their best league campaign to date. After failing to book a berth in the top-four in each of the past four seasons, they are now just one win away from doing it this time around.
The Gaffer’s Call
While FC Goa’s campaign was underwhelming in terms of results, head coach Derrick Pereira is keen to look at the bright side of things. “This was a learning curve for us. In my case, I experienced life in a bio-bubble for the first time. The players, although not new to it, had a different experience this time around,” he said.
“A lot of external factors affected our performances and results. Individual mistakes – not just of players but also those of the match officials in some cases – was one of them. We had to make last-minute adjustments to the lineups because of COVID-19 and injuries.
“We could’ve done many things differently in an ideal situation. But now, we will focus only on our final game, and we will hope to end the season on a good note,” Pereira added.
The Task Ahead
The Gaurs have always looked to go into every game with three points on their mind. And it won’t be any different on Sunday. A win against the Blasters will help in ending the season positively, which is important in its own way as it sets the tone for next season’s preparations. The same sentiment was echoed by the club’s assistant coach, Clifford Miranda, last week. “Wrapping up the season with a win is important as it will put us in the right position to start preparing for our next league campaign,” he had said.
The Men in Orange will hence look to do exactly that, and in doing so will also be able to put a dampener on Kerala Blasters’ own top-four hopes. The Kochi outfit will also be looking for a win as the three points are necessary to fuel their run-up to the playoffs.
With Ivan Vukomanovic at the helm, the team from Kochi seems to have hit the right chords. Unlike previous seasons, their foreign contingent has delivered and gelled well with the domestic stars.
They have lost just once in their last five games and scored ten goals during this period. The front-four of Alvaro Vazquez, Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Adrian Luna and Sahal Abdul Samad are in fine form and will surely be a threat for the Gaurs’ defence led by Ivan Gonzalez.
Both teams, hence, have different objectives in mind for Sunday. While FC Goa will walk out to the pitch seeking a consolation win, Kerala Blasters will be looking for the three points that will confirm their playoff prospects.
Numbers Speak
0 – When FC Goa and Kerala Blasters meet, goals are bound to happen. The two teams have locked horns with each other 15 times and have never played out a goalless draw to-date.
3 – While head-to-head stats put the Men in Orange in the driving seat for this clash, the same cannot be said about their performances this season. The Gaurs are currently on a three-game losing streak and last registered a victory earlier last month against Chennaiyin FC.
6 – Kerala Blasters’ goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill has been one of the finds of the season so far. The youngster has kept six clean sheets so far in the ongoing campaign – in comparison, FC Goa’s Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem and Naveen Kumar have one clean sheet each.
9 – Come Sunday, FC Goa will be hoping that history will be on their side again as they face a side they have not lost to since November 2016. They have played nine games since then, across five seasons.
9 – Kerala Blasters are in very good form this season. They have registered nine wins so far, the most by the club in a single season of the ISL.
14 – One can expect FC Goa to score against the Blasters, as the latter have failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their past 14 encounters against the former. Their first-ever meeting in November 2014, which KBFC won 1-0, was also the last time when they kept a clean sheet against the Gaurs.
19 – Both teams love to score against each other – another reason to expect goals. FC Goa and Kerala Blasters have both scored a combined 19 goals in their past five meetings. The last time when either side registered a clean sheet was in February 2019, when FC Goa won 3-0.
30 – KBFC have scored 30 goals so far in ISL 2021-22. This is their best-ever record in terms of goals scored per season, having bettered the 29 goals’ tally that they set in the 2019-20 season.
33 – Kerala Blasters’ current tally of 33 points in this ISL season is also their best-ever haul to-date. Their previous best tally was the 25 points that they amassed in the 2017-18 season.
60 – KBFC’s Alvaro Vazquez (62) and FC Goa’s Jorge Ortiz (60) are among the only three players who have attempted 60 or more shots in ISL 2021-22. While Ortiz scored eight times, Vazquez is just behind with seven goals. Vazquez, however, has more shots on target (28) than Ortiz (24).
“We want to end the season on a good note,” says head coach Derrick Pereira
With just one game left for FC Goa in the ISL, it can surely be said that their campaign did not go as well as they would have liked. The Gaurs are currently in ninth place, with just 18 points from 19 games and have won just four times so far.
In the meantime, however, head coach Derrick Pereira is counting his positives. The optimistic tactician is of the opinion that the team learned several new things during the season.
“This whole season has been a learning curve for us. In my case, I experienced life in a bio-bubble for the first time. The players, although not new to it, had a different experience this time around,” he explained ahead of FC Goa’s final league game against Kerala Blasters.
“I understood a lot about players’ mental well-being and how important it is. A lot of factors affected our results this season. We had to make last-minute changes to our playing XI in some games, and there were days when we could not go out and train.
“Individual mistakes – not just of players but also of those officiating the matches – had an effect on some matches. In short, we all could have done a lot of things differently.”
All’s well that ends well
Pereira and his boys will now walk out to the pitch for one final showdown, when they lock horns with high-flying Kerala Blasters in their last match of the season on Sunday. A win will take the Blasters to the playoffs for the first time in nearly six years, and FC Goa have an opportunity to stop them.
The boss, however, maintained that the focus is only on his own team and what they can do.
“We want to end the season on a good note. We have always been focusing on our own game and on what we can do to the best of our abilities. We’ll continue doing the same for tomorrow’s game as well,” he said, before adding that the team are no longer suffering from the effects of COVID-19.
“Everyone has tested negative for the virus. However, there are a few injury concerns – we will field our best possible XI tomorrow,” he signed off.
The match between FC Goa and Kerala Blasters is slated for a 7:30 pm IST kickoff, at the SAG Athletic Stadium in Bambolim, Goa on Sunday.
