Bhubaneswar: It was a fairytale end to coach Manolo Marquez’s tenure at FC Goa as his men bid him adieu with the perfect parting gift by clinching the Kalinga Super Cup with a dominant 3-0 win over Jamshedpur FC here on Saturday.
While the trophy presentation was conducted indoors after a sudden cyclonic storm and rains affected a proper ceremony in front of its supporters, it could not dampen FC Goa’s celebrations following their brilliant performance at Kalinga Stadium.
Wearing black armbands in tribute to the victims of Lairai Devi Temple in Goa, the Gaurs took the wind away from under Jamshedpur players’ feet as Borja Herrera, who was adjudged the player of the match, scored a brace (23′, 51′) followed by another strike from Dejan Drazic (72′) earned them their first trophy since the 2021 Durand Cup.
As for Khalid Jamil and his Red Miners, it was heartbreak for them as they conceded three goals and a defeat having not conceded a single of them in this edition before the final.
It was a speedy start to the match with both teams pressing high from the word-go and trying to build the momentum for that all-important breakthrough.
For Jamshedpur, Rei Tachikawa went for a long shot in the first minute itself and captain Javi Hernandez then darted into the box from the left for a shot that was well saved by young Goa custodian Hrithik Tiwari in the second minute.
Goa, however, began growing into the game soon after with Herrera and Aakash Sangwan looking to control the game from the left and right flanks respectively.
And Marquez and his men did not have to wait long for the opener as a brilliant through from the middle by Drazic reached Sangwan on the left wing while deceiving Ashutosh Mehta outside the box. The youngster shot the ball low to the left of Albino Gomes, who had no option but to parry it near an onrushing Herrera, who shot the rebound only for Stephen Eze to block. However, there was no stopping the Spaniard on the second rebound as he made no mistake in shooting it higher and into the left of the goal.
The breakthrough only made Goa more dominant even as Jamshedpur tried their best to get back into the game.
Their best chance of the half came in the 43rd minute from a corner kick that almost hit the outstretched hand of Sandesh Jhingan in front of goal. But it didn’t, and Lazar Cirkovic’s header was collected by young Tiwari.
All plans and strategies that Jamil might have discussed during the break came to naught soon after the change of end as Gomes, who had kept three clean sheets in the tournament so far, was beaten by a screamer out of nowhere from Herrera, who had made a run from the midfield.
It was Herrera’s fourth goal of the Super Cup as he levelled with teammate Iker Guarrotxena as the topscorer while taking the match away from Jamshedpur.
However, to further disappointment of the Red Miners fans, who had for long been their No. 12 of the final with their cheers, it was Drazic who sealed the match and the trophy for his team by receiving a long through from Carl McHugh and going around Gomes to confidently put the ball into the net and the Red Miners’ dreams of a trophy into dust.