ISL 2021-22: SC East Bengal beat FC Goa for their first win

Bengaluru, January 19: Unforced errors spelt doom for FC Goa as the Gaurs slumped to a 1-2 loss to SC East Bengal, giving the Red and Gold their first win of the season of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22 season at the Athletic Stadium in Bambolim in Goa on Wednesday (January 19) night.

Goa managed to conjure up 65 per cent of possession and 14 attempts on goal, but that was not enough for even a point on the night.

Naorem Mahesh Singh was the hero for the Kolkata side as his double helped them to finally get off the bottom of the table.

Alberto Noguera struck for FC Goa.

However, the Spaniard's third goal of the season was not enough for FC Goa to earn a point.

FC Goa's first loss in four games sees them stuck in 9th spot on the table with 13 points from their 12 games.

SC East Bengal on the other hand moved up to 10th thanks to their first three points of the season.

POINTS TABLE | RESULTS | FIXTURES

The Gaurs will be back in action on Sunday (January 23) to take on Bengaluru FC. while SC East Bengal will lock horns with Hyderabad FC a day later.

It was a sense of deja vu for FC Goa to begin the game as SC East Bengal opened the scoring against the run of play in the 9th minute.

A misplaced pass in the middle of the pitch gifted the ball to Mahesh, who did well to run beyond Anwar Ali before applying the finishing touch.

The Gaurs had their first chance of the game in the 23rd minute when good build up play saw Romario break behind the East Bengal backline. The wing-back though failed to keep his shot down.

The Men in Orange kept the pressure up and Alberto Noguera finally came good in the 37th minute, scoring his third of the season against SC East Bengal to bring the game back on level terms.

The joy though was short lived as Mahesh scored his second of the match and the season, taking full advantage of another lapse at the back, this time by the young Anwar Ali.

The second half saw the Gaurs come out all guns blazing as they nearly equalised in the 52nd minute. Edu Bedia's attempt from a kick at the edge of the box seemed like it was heading into the top corner of the goal until Arindam Bhattacharya leaped brilliantly to his left to pull off a timely save.

FC Goa lodge complaint to AIFF over

Refereeing decisions also continued to haunt Goa as the 81st minute saw Jorge Ortiz being hacked down in the penalty box by a challenge. The appeals fell on deaf ears.

It is worth mentioning that the Gaurs Goa have lodged a formal complaint with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) regarding the standard of refereeing in the ongoing ISL and had also sought clarification over certain decisions in their matches against Kerala Blasters and NorthEast United earlier this month.

The club said in a statement that it has written to the AIFF's Referee's Department regarding the decisions during their matches played on January 2 and 14. FC Goa had drawn 2-2 and 1-1 against Kerala Blasters and NorthEast United in the two matches, respectively.

The club said the decisions had an adverse effect on their points tally in the ISL 2021-22 season so far.

(With FC Goa Media/ISL Media inputs)