A one-goal lead often carries the prefix ‘precarious’. It is indeed so, forever in danger of being wiped out.
If it is to be evidenced, one need not go too far. In the league stage’s last match, Delhi Dynamos led FC Goa by not one but two goals, only to be run over in a matter of minutes.
On Tuesday, when the same two sides clash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda in the second leg of the Indian Super League semifinal, Dynamos will certainly know how wafer-thin the margin is.
“I cannot say they had supremacy,” Goa’s chief coach Zico said of the first leg which his side lost 1-0. “Both teams had chances. They took one, we didn’t.”
The first leg was, in fact, stereotyped as a battle between two contrasting sides — between a Dynamos outfit relying on defensive solidity and a Goa side full of flair. It didn’t necessarily turn out that way. Instead Goa - in what was certainly not a departure from the past - played on the counter while Dynamos showed how a repetitively honed passing game built from the back (defence) can hurt.
If anything, it is the second leg which might well fit into that stereotype. Frenchman Florent Malouda, one among Dynamos’ stand-out performers, hinted as much even as coach Roberto Carlos conceded that it was quite un-Brazilian to be considered more defensive than offensive, and that his side would “always attack”. “When you build a team, you build it from the back,” Malouda said. “It provides solid foundation. The possession, the movement, and the control — everything is better. We’re also creating more. We missed some but we create. We have to keep repeating it game after game.”
When asked if his team would not be averse to “parking the bus”, the former Chelsea player smilingly said: “If at the end we have to defend, we can park the bus, or even the plane in front of the goal. Our goalkeeper will be more than happy.” Much will depend on how Goa’s midfield talisman Leo Moura plays. The Brazilian’s ability to play in multiple positions across the midfield is what gives the team its versatility. The counter to that might lie in how, the engine in Malouda, who has so far expertly bridged the attack with defence, marshals his side. Goa will miss the services of Reinaldo, scorer of seven goals, and Raju Gaekwad, both of who picked up injuries in Delhi.
Away goals don't count
Unlike European competitions like the UEFA Champions League, the away goal rule which generally decides the winner when the aggregate over two legs is tied, will not be applied in the ISL. If, for example, FC Goa defeats Delhi Dynamos 2-1, Dynamos’ away goal will not count, and the match will go into extra-time and if need be into a penalty shoot-out. |
