ISL: Goa snatch late draw against debutants Inter Kashi

Margao: FC Goa coach Manolo Marquez wasn’t bluffing when he said debutants Inter Kashi FC will be better than many teams in the Indian Super League (ISL).In the first half of their ISL opener at Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Inter Kashi took the lead in added time, looked good enough to create an upset in the second, until a late penalty – that resulted in a red card – ruined plans as Goa equalised to end the game 1-1.It was Prasanth K who provided Inter Kashi the lead in the second minute of first-half added time with a nice lob over the onrushing goalkeeper. At half time, when the teams moved to the dressing room, Manolo was furious, telling his team that if he had a choice he “would have substituted all 11 players, not just for the (poor) football but also attitude.”Goa seemed better in the second half with Abdul Rabeeh brought in to add pace on the right wing.

But it was not until the 83rd minute that Goa found the equaliser when Kashi goalkeeper Lluis Tarres brought down Muhammed Nemil inside the box, prompting referee Crystal John to award a penalty and send off the Spanish goalkeeper.Dejan Drazic stepped up to take the penalty and comfortably beat substitute goalkeeper Shubham Dhas.Kashi’s experiment of using a goalkeeper as one of their four foreign starters on the field turned out to be a bittersweet experience.

Tarres, a 24-year-old keeper with experience of playing in the Copa del Rey, seemed unbeatable for 80 minutes, denying Drazic – Goa’s liveliest attacker – twice from close range, and Nemil with a brilliant reflex save.Then, when the team, in typical Antonio Lopez Habas mould, showed defensive solidity, defending a narrow lead in numbers, Tarres needlessly tried to dribble past Nemil inside the box and pulled down the Goa forward when the ball was snatched from his feet.Goa had only two foreign players – Drazic and defender Pol Moreno – while Kashi had four on the field, which included two forwards, Alfred Planas Moya and Nauris Petkevicio, goalkeeper Tarres and captain Sergio Llamas.Planas tested Goa keeper Hrithik Tiwari early in the game and Rohit Danu tried his luck with a long ranger. Just when it seemed like the first half would end goalless, Haobam Tomba Singh did well to beat two of his markers inside his own half and relay a long ball to Prasanth, who beat off challenge from Aakash Sangwan and lobbed the ball past the goalkeeper.After Manolo’s fury in the dressing room, Goa showed urgency in the second half. There were forward movements, crosses, attempts, but in the end the Super Cup champions benefitted from a rare misjudgement by the Kashi goalkeeper.At the end of the final whistle, neither team was happy. Both left the field thinking they could have got something more.