Indian Super League: FC Goa seal last semi-final spot; ATK edge past NorthEast United

Spanish forward Ferran Corominas struck twice as FC Goa blanked Jamshedpur FC 3-0 to seal a last-four spot in an eventful Indian Super League (ISL) match which saw both the rival goalkeepers being red-carded in Jamshedpur on Sunday.

FC Goa needed at least a draw to seal their spot in the final four, but the win at the JRD Tata Sports Complex took them to third in the points table, one place above FC Pune City. The Goan side will take on Chennaiyin FC in the last four while table toppers Bengaluru FC face FC Pune City in the other play-off match.

Jamshedpur fought valiantly but are now out of the reckoning and will look forward to the Super Cup after finishing fifth in the league. It took just seven minutes for the first major event of the match. Jamshedpur had started with a lot of attacking intent, but were left deflated when Subrata Paul handled the ball outside the area and got himself sent off.

 

With a man down, the home side were staring at an ominous result. Head coach Steve Coppell sacrificed Bikash Jairu to send in goalkeeper Sanjiban Ghosh and he conceded at the half-hour mark. It was a typical free-flowing move from Goa. Hugo Boumous slipped Seriton Fernandes through, and his cross was missed by Tiri, leaving Corominas to score from the far post with ease.

Souvik Chakrabarti and Izu Azuka combined a few times to threaten the visiting side goal, but while they put pressure on the defence, they failed to break Goa down convincingly. Jamshedpur had no option but to chase the match and that left big gaps at the back. Lanzarote's aerial through ball found Corominas on the run, and he slammed it past the goalkeeper after excellent technique to control the ball.

 

With a two-goal cushion, the visitors started attacking with all their force to finish the match off. Ahmed Jahouh took a rasping effort from a distance which struck the woodwork, but FC Goa soon found the third goal. This time it was Corominas' pass that was cleverly left by Edu Bedia to run onto Lanzarote. The attacker measured his finish and neatly tucked it into the back of the net.

Things got interesting when FC Goa lost their goalkeeper Naveen Kumar for exactly the same reason Jamshedpur did -- but this comedy of errors came too late for Jamshedpur to make the most of it. 

ATK edge past NorthEast United

An early goal from caretaker coach and captain Robbie Keane helped ATK defeat North East United FC 1-0 in their concluding league clash of the ISL in Kolkata on Sunday. Having struggled to replicate the good performance of the previous seasons, two-time champions ATK needed a win to avoid a bottom-place finish, and Keane's well-taken goal in the 10th minute ensured just that at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan.

As for NEUFC, it was yet another night where things could have gone their way. After a sluggish start to the game, ATK went ahead with the first good bit of play in the game. In the 10th minute, Conor Thomas put in a delightful ball over the top of the defenders to pick up Robbie Keane, who brought it down before poking it past goalkeeper TP Rehenesh.

Shortly after going a goal down, NorthEast had the ball in the back of the net courtesy John Mosquera but it was ruled offside. NorthEast kept piling on the pressure on ATK for most part of the first phase of play. In the 36th minute, Mosquera should have put the visitors on level terms after being put through on goal by Helio Pinto.

 

The Colombian forward, however, delayed taking his shot, giving goalkeeper Soram Poirei an opportunity to block his effort. In the second half, both sides made a slow start. At the hour mark, ATK came close to doubling their lead after Sibongakonke Mbatha made a darting run inside the NorthEast penalty box, but his effort went just wide of the goal.

At the other end, the visitors failed to create the chances they had managed to do in the first half. In the dying moments of the game, NorthEast came close again. Marcinho's 87th-minute freekick looked destined to be headed in by Danilo Lopez but the forward somehow failed to connect.