ISL: Boris Singh leads FC Goa to 1-0 win over Kerala Blasters FC

FC Goa kept their 50th clean sheet in the competition and continued their fine form as they defeated Kerala Blasters FC 1-0 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 season on Thursday. It was a highly contested affair between the two teams, as neither was giving even an inch to their opponent. It was an interesting midfield clash, with Kerala Blasters FC preferring their homegrown talents, Vibin Mohanan and Freddy Lalavamavama, against FC Goa's Carl McHugh-led midfield.

Iker Guarotxena's first chance of the game came when the Spaniard hit the post with a well-calculated freekick. It was straight out of the training ground and took the opposition defenders by surprise. However, it was cleared after hitting the far post after Sachin Suresh was completely beaten between the sticks.

After the end of the 30 minutes the Gaurs continued to attack and their persistence finally paid off when Sahil Tavora found Boris Singh with acres of space on the right. The winger tried his luck from a narrow angle and to everyone's surprise, Sachin Suresh failed to stop the ball, eventually conceding the ball in the 40th minute.

It has been a difficult inaugural season for Mikael Stahre and his team has lost points due to a number of individual errors. A similar incident happened today with Sachin Suresh making what was otherwise a very regulation save. Now the goal gave FC Goa the lead at the break, giving the visiting team a chance to dictate terms in the second period.

The Gaurs started the second half the same way they had ended the first half. They almost doubled their lead when Dejan Dragic got behind the Blasters' backline on a fast break. He went ahead of Pritam Kotal but was ultimately denied by Sachin Suresh.

As Manolo Marquez's men continued their attacking offensive, Stahre decided to shake things up with a wide conversion in the 56th minute. They included Kwame Peprah, Koru Singh and Sandeep Singh in place of Jesus Jimenez, Rahul KP and Pritam Kotal respectively.

Peprah quickly burst out of the blocks with a superbly weighted diagonal ball to Noah Saadaoui. However, Morocco's final ball towards Luna was expertly blocked by Akash Sangwan. There was a spell in the middle which belonged to the hosts but players like Odei Onindia and Sandesh Jhingan held their fort with confidence.

In the 84th minute, Manolo turned to his replacements and brought on the trio of Armando Sadiku, Borja Herrera and Udanta Singh to freshen things up for the visitors. FC Goa's defenders were once again called into action by young Korou, who made two attempts on goal in quick succession but was blocked both times. The youngster was in a good position to equalize in the first-time, but was stopped by an excellent block from Jhingan, who threw his body on the line to protect the Gaurs' lead.