FC Goa came from behind to record a 1-1 draw against NorthEast United FC on Wednesday evening at the JLN Stadium in Fatorda, Goa. Victor Mendy scored the opener for the visitors, but the goal was cancelled out by Reinaldo.
The visitors bragged of most of the chances in the second half, and it looked like they were going for the win, but a clear goal from Nico Velez was disallowed by the linesman.
NorthEast United FC move to the fourth position, while FC Goa stay in the second position after the result.
The first half was a tight affair, with FC Goa custodian Laxmikant Kattimani making some crucial saves to prevent the visitors from getting the lead. The first real chance of the game from NorthEast United FC came in at the 14th minute when a well-delivered chipped ball from Bruno Arias found Francis Dadzie.
The Ghanian instantly pulled the trigger, and Kattimani was right there to make a dive and parry the ball away. Just 12 minutes later, Sanju Pradhan had a go on the goal, but his effort was kept out by the FC Goa custodian. Bruno was making the run to capitalise on the loose ball, but Raju Yumnam tracked back just in time to clear the ball away.
The visitors had most of the shots on goal in the first half, and the hosts kind of struggled to make an impact. NorthEast United FC custodian Rehenesh had a relatively tension-free half as he didn't have to make much saves. Nigerian striker Dudu came close to scoring early on, but his shot was well over the bar.
It was goalless going into half time.
There was a massive chance for the visitors to get the lead just with the start of the second half as Simao's ball from the corner saw a header for Cederic Hengbart find the woodwork. And the next moment itself, Leo Moura's shot from a distance for FC Goa forced a low save out of Rehenesh.
The second half got off to a blistering start as Indian goalkeeper Rehenesh once again made a top save to prevent Jonatan Lucca from scoring for the home team from close-range.
Victor Mendy, who came on for an injured Dadzie in the first half, finally gave the first blood to the visitors as he headed in a perfectly-delivered cross from a corner kick taken by Simao. The lead however didn't last until the end of 90 minutes, as a wonderful build-up from the home team in the 80th minute, saw the equaliser coming.
Reinaldo got the 130th goal of the ISL this season as he blasted the net after getting a subtle chested ball from Moura.
It was complete frustration for Cesar Farias and his men as a clear goal was disallowed in the 87th minute. Nico Velez made his run to perfection and beat Kattimani to slot inside the net, but the linesman had his flag raised.
Catch the highlights of the game HERE.
