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FC Goa put Mohun Bagan Super Giant to the sword, beating them 3-1 to progress to the final of the Kalinga Super Cup on Wednesday. The scores were tied 1-1 at half-time.
Goals from Brison Fernandes (20'), Iker Guarrotxena (51' penalty), and Borja Herrera (58') sealed a comfortable victory for Manolo Marquez's side over Bastab Roy's young guns. The Gaurs, champions in 2019, will face Jamshedpur FC in Saturday's final, as per the AIFF official website. In a blistering start, Goa constantly pressured Mohun Bagan's defence on the backfoot, their high pressing and high-speed game leaving the Mariners' midfield constantly out of position and disjointed. To add to that, Goa also brought unpredictability to their set-piece routines, and in the 20th minute, Brison Fernandes capitalised on one to score the opener. From an improvised corner routine, Borja Herrera curled a perfect cross into the danger zone, for Brison to slightly glance into the far corner. Goa's lead didn't last too long, and Mohun Bagan were level within two minutes. Ashique Kuruniyan picked up a pass on the byline and, with a devastating turn of pace and skill, left the marking defender Boris Singh in his wake before unleashing a low fizzing cross into the six-yard area. Suhail Bhat merely had to tap it in to create a carbon copy of his quarter-final goal against Kerala Blasters. The Gaurs came out with more energy, desire, and verve in the second half, and within a minute, Brison's driving midfield run and pass split the midfield, delivering a perfect opportunity for Dejan Drazic on the left side of the box. The Serbian pulled his shot wide. Mohun Bagan's defence had gone absent, and it portended things to come. In the 50th, while running to a long ball in the same channel, an unmarked Drazic was brought down by a reckless Dheeraj Singh challenge. The referee duly pointed to the spot, and Iker Guarrotxena made no mistake, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to score. Dheeraj's evening got worse seven minutes later, when he was badly caught under a Herrera corner, which flew over him and straight into the net. The Spaniard had threatened constantly with his curling corners and on this occasion found the perfect blend of curl and flight to outwit the goalkeeper. The Mariners looked out of it, and yet they had a chance to reduce the deficit and create a fight when Salahudheen ran clear from a Nuno Reis long ball, controlled it, went around the goalkeeper, and found himself facing an open net. He took a touch too many and pulled the trigger too late, allowing Goa's scrambling defence to issue a heroic block on the line. From thereon, it was all about game management, and Goa executed it perfectly, even coming close to adding a fourth in the final minutes of the game. They didn't need to, progressing to the final and keeping their hopes of a first Asian campaign since 2021 and a second Super Cup title alive. Borja Herrera was presented the Kalinga Player of the Match award by Mr. Deepankar Mohapatra, IAS, Director, Sports and Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha. (ANI)
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