Kochi, Nov 28 (PTI) Boris Singh's first half goal handed FC Goa a 1-0 win over Kerala Blasters FC in a closely-fought Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.
It was a cagey affair between the two teams, as neither was allowing an inch to the other.
The first opportunity of the game fell to FC Goa's Iker Guarrotxena when the Spaniard struck the post from a well-planned freekick. It was straight out of the training ground and it took the opposition defenders by surprise.
However, it was cleared away after hitting the far post with Sachin Suresh completely beaten between the sticks.
The Gaurs were relentless in their attack post the 30-minute mark and their persistence eventually bore fruit when Sahil Tavora found Boris on the right flank with acres of space.
The winger tried his luck from a narrow angle and to everyone's surprise, Sachin Suresh failed to parry the ball away, eventually conceding in the 40th minute.
It has been a tough inaugural season for Mikael Stahre with his team dropping points due to several individual errors. One such incident happened on Thursday with Sachin Suresh fluffing his lines which otherwise was a very regulation save.
The goal handed FC Goa the lead at the break, allowing the visitors to dictate terms in the second period.
The Gaurs started the second half just like they finished the first one. They almost doubled their lead when Dejan Drazic was in behind the Blasters' backline on a fast break. He wriggled his way past Pritam Kotal but was eventually denied by Sachin Suresh.
With Manolo Marquez's men continuing their onslaught, Stahre decided to shake things up with wholesale changes in the 56th minute. He brought on the likes of Kwame Peprah, Korou Singh and Sandeep Singh replacing Jesus Jimenez, Rahul KP and Pritam Kotal respectively.
Peprah was off the blocks quickly with a brilliantly weighted diagonal ball to Noah Sadaoui. However, the Moroccan's final ball intended towards Luna was expertly blocked by Akash Sangwan.
There was a spell in between which belonged to the hosts but the likes of Odei Onaindia and Sandesh Jhingan held their fort with aplomb.