Kolkata: Brison Fernandes has yet to make his senior India debut but it is unlikely Khalid Jamil will ignore the wide forward now. That’s because of the poise Fernandes showed on the way to scoring FC Goa’s first goal in Asian Champions League 2 and the desire before and after that.
Before placing his shot in the far corner, Fernandes sent an Al Nassr player sliding away. Just like Fernandes, it is unlikely Abdulelah Al Amri, a Saudi Arabia centre-back with 31 international caps and who played in the 2-1 win against Argentina in the 2022 World Cup, will forget the moment that came in the 41st minute of the FC Goa-Al Nassr contest at Fatorda’s Nehru Stadium.
From out of nothing Goa had halved the deficit with Fernandes, 24, making good on a smart pass from Dejan Drazic. In a competition with no bar on foreign players, FC Goa’s goal came from a local player who joined in 2016 after playing for Salgaocar under-14s.
The first goal the Saudi Pro League leaders had conceded in the tournament meant Sadio Mane and Joao Felix would be needed because Al Nassr couldn’t be sure whether goals from Angelo Damaceno (11th) and Haroune Moussa Camara (27th) would be enough for their third successive win.
It was surreal watching Boris Singh being denied by Inigo Martinez, Hrithik Tiwari collecting as Felix stepped up or Pol Moreno and David Timor taking the ball off Mane. FC Goa showing they can defend doughtily against an Asian heavyweight meant the margin of defeat would stay 1-2 even after David Timor’s red card for dissent in the 92nd minute. Both teams had two attempts on target, Al Nassr needing 18 shots and 81% possession to do that as opposed to two by FC Goa.
FC Goa had trained to keep their defensive shape against a team they knew would come hard even if it had come without Cristiano Ronaldo. Including substitutes on Wednesday, Al Nassr started seven who had played in the 2-3 defeat to Kawasaki Frontale in the Asian Champions League Elite semi-final last term.
In 71-year-old Jorge Jesus, they had a coach who is a legend in Portugal and Brazil. In assistant-coach Joao de Deus, they had a man who gave Cape Verde’s national team the structure that has fetched a World Cup berth. Even with several players rested, Al Nassr had lined up Martinez and Damaceno, 20, who played 95 times for Santos, was signed by Chelsea before Al Nassr paid €23m for him.
Damaceno scored from range though Tiwari should have done better. Camara showed close control to make it 2-0 after Aiman Yahya, through whom most of Al Nassr’s attacks were channeled in the first half, had found him.
