FC Goa end their pre-season with 4-2 defeat against Dubai's Hatta club
FC GOA FAUGHT BACK with two late goals scored by Reinaldo and Victor Simoes in the 4-2 defeat to Hatta Club at the Hatta Stadium to conclude the Dubai sojourn, on Sunday.
After the match against Al Jazeera Club was cancelled due to the untimely demise of Sheikh Rashid, son of Sheikh Mohammed-Prime Minister of UAE, Goa were awarded the opportunity to play their final friendly in Dubai against Hatta Club.
The prior matches resulted in a 2-2 against Al Khaleej and 2-1 win over Al Shabab on Tuesday was the only win in the four fixtures eventually played in Dubai.
Zico fielded almost a similar starting line-up that drew 1-1 against Ajman Club on on Wednesday, with Laxmikant Kattimani returning in the goal in place of Elinton Andrade who were handed starts in alternate matches; the same was the case for most of the squad. Both Hatta and Goa began the tie on the offensive note with Kattimani requiring to make an early save while Darryl Duffy was handed a good chance by Narayan Das in the 23rd minute but only for the Scottish striker to be robed of possession in the center of the box.
Three minutes later, Hatta scored their first goal of the evening before Reinaldo’s header off a Jofre Mateu Gonsalvez corner was saved by the UAE Division 1 team’s goalkeeper in the 33rd minute. Kattimani holds his ground in another attempt by the team known as Tornado in the next minute and then Gregory Arnolin saw his header go wide of the target after being found by Leo Moura. Goa’s second disappointment before the half-time break was caused by a mix up between Arnolin and Das which the home team took advantage of to make it 2-0 in the 37th minute.
Hatta Club right away resumed the second half with a third goal and held with a strong backline to keep the Goans frustrated despite Jofre’s curling free-kick coming ever so close to finding the back of the net in the 58th minute.
Brazilian-born Portuguese goalkeeper Andrade, who made 67 saves in six matches in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, replaced Kattimani at the hour mark but that didn’t stop the home side from scoring their fourth goal in the 64th minute. Zico’s team continued to rue their missed chances as Romeo Fernandes narrowly failed to find the target after being setup by Reinaldo.
However, a consolation goal eventually came for FC Goa in the 74th minute as Reinaldo converted after getting on the end of a good pass by substitute Mandar Rao Dessai.
The ISL team continued their fight back in the match with another goal in a matter of minutes. Victor Simoes, who replaced Reinaldo, stepped up to score from the 12 yard mark in the 86th minute after he was brought down in the Hatta box for a penalty.
FC Goa showed a promise similar to the comeback in last season’s ISL wherein they finished as semi-finalists after languishing at the bottom of the standings at one stage of the tournament in its inaugural edition.
