ISL Match Result: NorthEast United Hold FC Goa To 1-1 Draw

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ISL Match Result: FC Goa finished the year as the lone unbeaten team in the Indian Super League season as they were held to a 1-1 draw by NorthEast United at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Friday (December 29).

With the match, the first half of the ISL 2023-24 season ended while FC Goa ended the year second on the points table with 24 points (seven wins in 11 games). Carlos Martinez scored the opening goal of the game for FC Goa before MS Jithin equalised six minutes later.

FC Goa played the match without their start Spanish midfielder Victor Rodriguez, who is out for the season with a leg injury. Rodriguez has contributed three goals and three assists to the team's campaign thus far.

Carlos Martinez, who had only scored twice this season, filled in for him temporarily since his departure necessitated that someone from the squad step up. The Spanish striker scored in the 20th minute when Raynier Fernandes' pass to Noah Sadoui at the edge of the box set up Martinez's move, as he barely nodded the ball home to put his team ahead.

Prior to his score, the Highlanders had already suffered a severe blow when their center-back, Michel Zabaco, needed to be taken off the field by stretcher in the fourteenth minute after seemingly pulling up a muscle.

NorthEast United soon responded as Parthib Gogoi, who started on the right flank, made a decisive move. After edging past Jay Gupta, he curled in an inch-perfect cross for fellow forward Jithin MS. The latter easily navigated between Sandesh Jhingan and Odei Onaindia to hammer the ball past goalie Arshdeep Singh at the 26th minute.

As Gogoi and Jithin excelled up front, it was Mirshad Michu's responsibility to maintain parity in the score at the back. With lightning speed, Noah broke through the North East United FC defense and set up a pass for Carl McHugh, who was closing in

.The defensive midfielder took a shot from outside the 18-yard line with his first touch, forcing Michu to dive full length to block the effort. Manolo Marquez, the head coach of FC Goa, was determined to secure three points, and he made several replacements to try and secure the hard-to-get winner, including Boris Singh, Paulo Retre, and Muhammad Nemil.

Although that did not materialize, FC Goa may be very proud of the first half of their campaign, since they did not lose a single game. After a poor run, the Highlanders have shown some encouraging performance in the previous several months, but they still have a lot to gain in the second half of the season.