Has FC Goa lost their rhythm after the break? The team finds itself in a bit of a tangle as the fifth Indian Super League heads towards the business end. With four games to play in the league phase, the Gaurs are still shy of a minimum five points to make the play-off grade after taking just 5 points from three games since the resumption of ISL in the New Year.
Last season, a frenetic dash to the finish saw Lobera’s boys make the cut with a tally of 30 points. While there is still no need to panic like it was last season, the Gaurs have to bring their rhythmic tiki-taka style football back on display sooner rather than later with bitter rivals ATK next up on February 14.
A look back at FC Goa’s performance in the first half of the season shows that the Gaurs had done well with their attacking strategy while their defensive problems had lessened in
gravity.
The team had gone into the lengthy one and a half-month international break on the back of a convincing 5-1 victory over NorthEast United FC. This gave a lot of positivity to the team looking ahead at the second phase. And secondly, it gave enough time for coach Sergio Lobera to plug the leaky defence. The team experimented with specialist left-back Carlos Pena in the heart of defence partnering towering centre-back Mourtada Fall, but the new headache for the coach is lack of goals upfront.
The team that has scored maximum goals in the ISL since Lobera’s regime began last year, is suddenly finding it hard to find the target with a return of just two goals in the last three games.
The goals have dried up as first the visiting Jamshedpur FC and then hosts Delhi Dynamos thwarted the Goan attack although the Gaurs, between the two goalless draws, returned to winning ways at Mumbai City FC with Edu Bedia, scoring a scrappy goal, and Ferran Corominas dispatching the penalty with great finesse to become the greatest all-time goal-scorer in the ISL.
The lack of rhythm has been evident and coach Lobera admitted that the boys seemed tired after playing three games in eight days. A distinct drop in fitness level due to the over six-week break is showing. Although the team was training from the second week of January, the mid-season break seemed to have affected the Gaurs more than other teams. It must be noted that Lobera’s boys play a very different brand of football where they press high up after building from the back. A style which needs players to be at the peak of their fitness to get the desired result. It only remains to be seen how quickly the team adapts itself and peaks once again.
