Borja Herrera scored a phenomenal hat-trick against his former team as East Bengal succumbed to their third consecutive defeat in the Indian Super League in front of 11,000 supporters at Salt Lake Stadium.
Despite the visitors getting reduced to 10 in the 81st minute, the hosts failed to capitalise and lost 2-3. It was their first hat-trick of losses since their inaugural season in the ISL. East Bengal head coach Carles Cuadrat had to face ‘Go back Cuadrat’ chants from the supporters when he headed into the tunnel after the final whistle.
Cuadrat made four changes to the starting line-up and was forced to make several tactical tweaks due to the unavailability of key players Dimitrios Diamantakos and Saul Crespo. On the other hand, FC Goa fielded Carl McHugh in place of their top-scorer, Armando Sadiku, who missed the game due to a hamstring injury.
The visitors wasted no time in applying pressure on the East Bengal defence and nearly opened the scoring within two minutes. Goalkeeper Debjit Majumder was well-positioned to deny Dejan Drazic from close range.
In the 12th minute, Drazic surged down the left and delivered a square pass inside the box. While Debjit managed to deflect it, former East Bengal midfielder Herrera was left unmarked and he calmly slotted the ball home to put FC Goa ahead.
Just eight minutes later, Herrera added to East Bengal’s misery. Maher Hijazi lost possession to Boris Singh just outside the box. Boris set up Herrera with a low cross. The Spanish midfielder made no mistake, scoring his second goal of the match.
East Bengal showed urgency to reduce the deficit and succeeded in the 28th minute, when Madih Talal made it 2-1. The French midfielder earned a penalty after Rowllin Borges committed a foul inside the box, and Talal sent Laxmikant Kattimani the wrong way from the spot.
In the final quarter of the first half, East Bengal gradually took control of the midfield and created several opportunities, but failed to capitalise inside the box.
FC Goa began the second half with the same intensity, dominating East Bengal’s half and unsettling their defence. Cuadrat made several substitutions, but his decision to take off Jeakson Singh from midfield backfired. The defence looked exposed, and Herrera took advantage, silencing the crowd once again. Udanta Singh found him near the box from the right, and the former East Bengal midfielder easily bypassed his marker Hijazi, before curling the ball into the top right corner to complete his first ISL hat-trick.
FC Goa’s midfield mainstay McHugh was sent off in the 81st minute after receiving a second yellow for a foul on Cleiton Silva. East Bengal tried to take advantage, with Anwar Ali keeping a long-range effort on target. Kattimani managed to keep it out, but David Lalhlansanga pounced on the rebound to make it 3-2.
East Bengal threw everything forward in search of the equaliser, but their attacks lacked sharpness. The home side walked off the pitch, still without a win in the ISL after three games.