Angulo double helps FC Goa hold on to Sunil Chhetri’s Bengaluru | Photo: ISL Twitter
Margao: Spanish forward Igor Angulo’s double marked FC Goa’s spectacular comeback, which held Bengaluru FC to a 2-2 draw in an Indian Super League match, here on Sunday. For Bengaluru, Cleiton Silva (27 ‘) and Juanan González (57’) scored and until now, Sunil Chhetri’s men were looking for an easy victory. Goa dominated possession early on, with Bengaluru happy to sit up and maintain their defensive form.
However, both teams were unable to create clear opportunities in the first quarter. Bengaluru registered his first shot on goal in the 11th minute when Ashique Kuruniyan cut inside from the left, defeating three men, before switching to his weaker right foot. However, his meek attempt was comfortably picked up by the Goa custodian, Mohammad Nawaz.
Three minutes before the half hour, the visitors took an unusual lead, a serve that created confusion in the Goa area. Harmanjot Khabra’s shot from the left was launched towards the goal after Jorge Ortiz Mendoza’s clearance. Silva was the first to react and headed home to give Bengaluru the lead.
It wasn’t until the 45th minute that Goa made its first shot on goal. A Seriton Fernandes cross found Angulo, whose deft move went straight to Bengaluru goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. The visitors made a change after the winger swap, with Deshorn Brown replacing Kristian Opseth.
Bengaluru soon doubled their lead and came from set pieces again, with Juanan scoring the score, the club’s 100th goal in ISL history. The Goa defense was surprised when Kuruniyan’s free kick was guided by Brown towards Erik Paartalu.
The Australian headed the ball in Gonzalez’s path. The Spanish did not make any mistakes from close range and scored with a volley. Goa made two attacking changes around the clock, incorporating Brandon Fernandes and Alberto Noguera, and soon found their way back into the game with two goals from Angulo in the space of three minutes.
Angulo first cut the deficit with a good finish (66th) after a beautiful link between Fernandes and Noguera. The forward then hit a ball into the net for the equalizer (69th) after substitute Alexander Jesuraj played a direct pass from the right. Mendoza had the opportunity to score the winning goal for Goa in injury time. However, Sandhu kept his shot away.
