KOCHI: FC Goa are well and truly the comeback kings of the Indian Super League and they showed it yet again in their 2-2 draw against Chennaiyin FC at the GMC Stadium, Bambolim on Saturday.
Trailing 2-1 with two minutes of injury time left, Ishan Pandita struck the equalizer to snatch a hard-earned point. Jakub Sylvester (13) and Lallianzuala Chhangte (60) scored for Chennaiyin but Igor Angulo (19) and Pandita (90+3) helped the Gaurs script yet another fightback.
The point helps Goa jump to third in the table while Chennaiyin remains stranded at eighth in the table.
This game has always produced goals and this game was an open, expansive and end to end affair. Goa started on a shaky note with their keeper Dheeraj Singh looking uncomfortable every time a back pass came his way. It is evident that the young keeper is still getting accustomed to Juan Ferrando's style of play.
He almost handed Chennaiyin a gift of a goal when his miscued clearance fell to Manuel Lanzarote but the Spaniard couldn't convert.
Chennaiyin went onto take the lead in the 13th minute thanks to some brilliant work from Jakub. The Slovakian forward managed to weave his way inside the box and managed to skip past a host of Goa defenders before poking the ball past Dheeraj.
The celebrations were muted for a team that has struggled to score goals this season which has cost them dearly this season.
Goa managed to roar back into the game when they won a penalty in the 17th minute.
Alexander Jesuraj bombed down the right flank and tried to pick out Angulo in the middle with a cross.
The ball was handled by Chennaiyin skipper Eli Sabia inside the box.
Angulo stepped up and slammed it past Vishal Kaith but the referee ordered a re-take due to infringement into the box while the penalty was taken.
The Spaniard was ice cool with his re-take and managed to beat Kaith a second time to score his 12th goal of the season and more importantly got his team back into the contest.
The game ebbed and flowed and both teams had a series of chances with Jakub hitting the post being the most notable one as the two teams went into half-time all square.
The second half followed a similar story and it was Chennaiyin who took the lead again in the 60th minute. The goal came about from a Dheeraj mistake as he made a mess while trying to come out and clear a cross from the right by Reagan Singh.
Dheeraj completely missed the ball and the ball fell kindly to Chhangte at the far post and he made no mistake with his finish.
Goa started enjoying more possession and started to push more men forward, and given the number of times they have salvaged matches from losing positions, Chennaiyin had a task on their hands.
They were in for a rude shock when Goa substitute Ishan struck a stunning goal in injury to snatch a point. That's 12 points now won after being in losing positions.