A LATE FIRST HALF GOAL from Robin Singh was enough to secure a narrow, hard-fought 1-0 victory for Delhi Dynamos over FC Goa at home in the first leg of their semi-finals in ISL tonight.
Unsurprisingly, both teams featured a number of changes from their previous match, the last regular season game which they played against each other at this very venue. Delhi coach Roberto Carlos decided to bring back Toni Doblas in goal instead of Sanjiban Ghosh. Chicao, Gustavo, Anas Edathodika, Shylo and Sehnaj Singh also made it back to the squad the Dynamos' very first appearance in the ISL playoffs.
Zico also changed his custodian. Laxmikant Kattimani replaced Elinton Andrade in the FC Goa starting eleven. Raju Gaikwad, Arnolin, Leo Moura, Sabeeth and Narayan Das were also given a start on this momentous occasion.
The match began with Delhi showing some early aggression, in good and bad ways. Sehnaj Singh blatantly kicked Jofre and was lucky to get away without a booking. Then a Narayan Das clearance was intercepted by Malouda who fired away towards the target but the ball was just too high.
Goa had a great chance to get ahead when Jofre sent in a cross from the left flank that fell to Sabeeth who had a wide open net in front of him but headed it over.
The first card of the game came out one third into the half when Robert Lalthlamuana brought down Raju Gaikwad.
John Arne Riise caused some early drama when he went down like he got shot when Arnolin barely brushed past him. Leo Moura got agitated by it and ran in but others calmed him down. Riise made his case to the referee with much melodrama but got waved off.
A good cross from Sehnaj Singh got intercepted by Arnolin who tried to clear it but it reached Chicao who took a shot at the goal but it was off target.
A good battle of the midfields ensued but Delhi retained most of the possession and were constantly looking more dangerous. But it wasn't a domination; there were counter attacks and engrossing end to end action.
Raju Gaikwad picked up an injury and had to be replaced by Romeo Fernandes. Romeo immediately tried to make a run up the but Robert got in his way.
Adil Nabi made a threatening run and passed the ball to Gustavo who let fly with his left foot but it went wide. The half was coming to a close but Delhi were making more and more inroads into Goa's goalmouth.
And then came the break-through; from the very first attempt by either team that was actually on target. Gustavo's pass to Chicao saw the Brazilian defender send a slightly elevated cross into the FC Goa box. Robin Singh's header slammed the ball onto the ground, from where it found the net on the bounce. Delhi Dynamos were leading 1-0.
There were cheers all around and Roberto Carlos pumped his fist. Chicao got over-excited with his assist and fouled Jofre to get booked. But the crucial lead had been achieved; Delhi players walked out of the pitch on half-time with a one goal advantage over their opponents.
n the second half, FC Goa came out all guns blazing to get level. Jofre took a free kick that hit Reinaldo's back and came to Saeeth who had a great chance to head it in for the second time tonight, and once again sent it wide.
Then Delhi made a counter. Gustavo ran up and fed Nabi who whose shot went wide. Another run by Gustavo got cut short by Gregory Arnolin.
Reinaldo bodily blocked Doblas and the referee rightly called it a foul. And then he stood in the way of the free-kick and the referee rightly flashed him a yellow.
Nabi was being dangerous again and when he passed to Shylo he shot it wide from a very close range. Roberto Carlos was shaking his head at the miss. That should have been 2-0 for Delhi.
Goa replaced Reinaldo with Rafael Coelho to try and speed things up in the attack. The Gaurs were pushing hard now as Delhi's old strategy of getting the lead then containing the game appeared to be working again. Leo Moura brougt down Malouda and got booked.
Delhi replaced Adil Nabi with Hans Mulder. Then Shylo's nutmegged Pronay Halder to send a ball through to Malouda but yet again the shot went wide.
Goa made a counter. Leo Moura sent a shot in that Doblas got lucky with; it hit his leg and stopped there.
The misfiring Sabeeth was replaced with Bikramjit Singh as the match entered its last 10 minutes. Delhi, meanwhile, brought in Richard Gadze in Malouda's stead.
Gustavo, ever dangerous, ran straight in from the left and got past two defenders to send in a left footer but Laxmikant did great to make a save. On the other end, Jonatan crossed to Rafael who was offside and headed above the target anyway. Minutes later, Rafael set up Leo Moura who shot it over the bar again.
And that's how, after multiple misfires, the match came to an end. Delhi Dynamos had done great to take the lead and hold FC Goa down to claim an important home win in the first leg; the Lions' very first win over the Gaurs in a total of 5 encounters.
This two part battle between two Brazilian legends like Carlos and Zico is by no means over; a 1-0 win at home is not the biggest card to hold against a strong opponent like FC Goa. But what this match proves once again is that Delhi Dynamos are quite good at squeezing out these narrow wins on big occasions, much like Atletico de Kolkata did last year. And ATK ended up winning the trophy.
Delhi Dynamos are now two steps away from the title. Will Roberto's famous talks of infusing "winning mentality" in his players bear fruit in the best way? Will the ISL trophy be his parting gift to the fans after his short-lived career with the Lions, one that is potentially about to launch him in the world circuit as a managerial talent to reckon with? Or will Zico, also on the verge of departure from the Goa franchise, turn things around and establish a strong and successful footballing tradition at FC Goa? It's going to be an interesting 9 days.