Last Update: January 27, 2023, 00:42 IST
FC Goa forward Iker Guarotxena (Twitter)
Guarotxena scored a hat-trick to take his tally of goals for the season into double digits and propelled the Spaniard to the top of the goalscoring charts as Gus recorded an emphatic win over the Torchbearers.
Iker Guarotxena scored a hat-trick inside the opening quarter, his fastest this season, to lift FC Goa to third place in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 standings after a 4-2 win over East Bengal FC . Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Thursday.
Guarotxena’s goal on 12 minutes took his goals tally into double digits for the season and propelled the Spaniard to the top of the goalscoring charts. The result also dealt a blow to East Bengal FC’s playoff hopes, and they now find themselves ten points away from sixth place with five games to go.
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Gaur did not change his lineup from the previous game as head coach Carlos Peña only changed the formation from 4–2–3–1 to 4–1–2–3. The Torch Bearers made three changes as Ivan Gonzalez, Jerry Lalrinzuala and Sumeet Passi were included in the starting XI.
The slight change in formation added more attacking prowess on the part of FC Goa, eager to claw their way out of a vulnerable playoff spot. It didn’t take long for Peña’s gamble to see work as the hosts took a 3–0 lead after only 23 minutes.
It all started in the 11th minute, when Devendra Murgaonkar slotted a through ball into the box from the right to Noah Sadaoui. Under pressure from Passi, the winger lofted it into the path of Guarotxena, who tucked it in from close range.
Ten minutes later, Gvarotxena doubled his tally with a superb diving header. This time, the attack began on the left as Sadaoui whipped a pin-point delivery into the box and Guarotxena’s superb header bounced off the far post and headed in.
The Spanish player completed the hat-trick just two minutes later. Brandon Fernandes’ corner was headed away from goal by Fares Arnaut before Sanson Pereira headed it back into the box. The EBFC defense was caught on the wrong foot as Gvarotxena lifted the ball into the back of the net from close range.
Seven minutes into the second half, Lalchungnunga brought down Brandon near the edge of the box. Edu Bedia and Brandon stood over free-kicks before the latter managed to curl it in at the far post to extend FC Goa’s advantage.
The visitors mounted a brief challenge when an unmarked Suhair VP nodded in a cross from Mahesh Singh in the 59th minute and Sarthak Golui brought the deficit to two with another header in the 66th minute.
But he had left much to do himself. At the very end, Ridim Tlang’s low strike at the post by Kamaljit Singh in the 80th minute, and at the other end Mahesh’s 87th-minute effort was just wide of the near post as both sides looked for more goals. But the scoreline remained unchanged till the full-time whistle.
FC Goa have moved up to the third spot, although Kerala Blasters, ATK Mohun Bagan and Odisha FC have two games just below them. Edu Bedia picked up his fourth yellow card of the season and will miss Gaurs’ next encounter against Odisha FC on 6 February.
East Bengal FC are quickly running out of time and will take on Kerala Blasters in their next ISL game on February 3.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)