(Football news) FC Goa kept their playoff hopes alive after scoring five past Chennaiyin FC at the Tilak Maidan on Wednesday. The Gaurs opened the scoring through Makan Chothe (6th) while Jorge Ortiz (20th, 41st, 53rd) scored a hattrick and an own goal by Narayan Das (45th) severely dampened Chennaiyin FC’s hopes of finishing in the top four of the Indian Super League table.
Having failed to win in their last five games, FC Goa responded in appropriate fashion against the Marina Machans and are now on 18 points from 16 matches in ninth place. Former champions Chennaiyin FC lost their second consecutive loss which means they remain on 19 points from 16 matches and are currently eighth on the table. Such was FC Goa’s dominance that the Marina Machans never really looked like having a fighting chance in the match.
Makan Chothe scored his first ever Indian Super League goal after Edu Bedia passed the ball to Aiban Dohling on the left wing and the 25 year old cross was volleyed home by Chothe in the 6th minute. Jorge Ortiz opened his account soon after with Dohling providing the assist yet again to the Spanish footballer who scored past Debjit Majumder in the 20th minute. Dohling could have scored a goal to make it 3-0 soon after from an Edu Bedia corner but Debjit saved the header.
Chennaiyin FC had no threat in the attacking third as FC Goa scored two more goals before the half-time whistle. Ortiz scored his second with Dohling’s help after some combination play with Alberto Noguera in midfield. Noguera skipped past a few Chennaiyin players to provide an assist to Ortiz, who found the back of the net in the 41st minute. To make matters worse, Noguera whipped in an inviting cross at the cusp of half-time and Chennaiyin FC’s Narayan Das headed the ball into his own net to pile on the misery.
The second half continued in a similar fashion with Chennaiyin FC offering next to no attacking threat while FC Goa pushed on for a fifth goal. The relentlessness eventually paid dividends as Jorge Ortiz scored his third goal of the match in the 53rd minute after Dohling provided yet another assist, skipping past a few defenders to provide the vital pass to the Spaniard who scored his first hattrick of the season and clinched all three points for his team. Chennaiyin FC will face Odisha FC in their next match on Wednesday, 16th February at the Tilak Maidan while FC Goa will take on ATK Mohun Bagan on Tuesday, 15th February at the GMC Athletic Stadium.
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