Indian Super League’s entry in the AFC Champions League – FC Goa – have now been eliminated from the competition. The team’s exit was confirmed even before they kicked a ball on Monday night, as Al Wahda beat Persepolis in a crucial match.
FC Goa’s elimination was confirmed on Monday night when Al Wahda beat Persepolis in their group game. Thanks to their win, Al Wahda opened up an unassailable gap between themselves and Goa in third, thereby confirming the latter’s elimination from the competition. Juan Ferrando’s team later faced Al Rayyan in their fifth group game and were held to a 1-1 draw.
Going into the penultimate group matchday of the AFC Champions League, Goa had the slightest of chances to progress to the knockout stages. The ISL side trailed Al Wahda by five points and was yet to register a win in the competition. As such, their elimination from the tournament was all but a matter of time, thanks in part to the complicated new ACL format.
Nevertheless, any small hopes that Ferrando’s team held onto were squashed before they even kicked a ball on Monday night. They required Persepolis to beat Al Wahda in their earlier kick-off. However, the Iranian side was instead shocked by their opponents, who beat them 1-0 thanks to a goal by Tim Matavz. Al Wahda even had a man sent off late on but held onto the lead until full-time. As a result, the Emirati side opened up an eight-point gap between themselves and Goa, thus confirming the Indian side’s elimination.
With their exit from the competition official, Goa took on Al Rayyan with nothing but pride to play for. Ferrando’s team took the lead early on in the match, thanks to a goal by Jorge Ortiz. The Goa attacker ghosted in behind the Al Rayyan backline before knocking the ball past the goalkeeper and putting it into an empty net.
Goa looked set to register their first win in the competition, only for their opponents to pull a goal back late on. Ali Ferydoon scored in the 89th minute to rescue a point for Laurent Blanc’s side. As a result, FC Goa remain winless in the competition.
