FC Goa 2-1 Punjab FC Player Ratings: FC Goa’s late winner seals their spot in the Kalinga Super Cup Semi-Finals

FC Goa faced off against Punjab FC in the quarter-final clash of the Kalinga Super Cup 2025, where the winner will clash against Mohun Bagan who won against the Kerala Blasters with a scoreline of 2-1.

Both teams come for the clash with their heads held high. FC Goa, the winners of the 2018 edition, had a dominating victory of 3-0 against Gokulam Kerala FC, and Punjab FC had a hard-fought victory against Odisha FC with the same scoreline. Both the head coaches were confident as they had a great first round.

The arena was humid, and the weather poured in rain, making the conditions difficult. But both teams had a goal to accomplish, and no obstacles were strong enough to stop them from fighting for it. Either side wanted nothing less than a win and a move towards the semi-final. FC Goa got the ball rolling, and they started initiating attacks very early from the services of Drazic, who was very effective in the previous game. To their dismay, none of them caused real trouble for the Punjab backline.

Punjab started attacking from the flanks and the responsibility was taken by Suhail and Nihal who took charge of the right and left wing respectively. Nihal was quick and he made some accelerated runs while Suhail played cleverly and made some tricky moves which confused the opponents and added pressure upon them.

Only a countable times the both teams been put to the real test. The first of them came from a header shot from Nikhil Prabhu as he made a clever run from the second post to the first post to take a powerful header which was which required a special hand to stop. And those special hands were held by Hritik Tiwari, who dived to the right to make an extraordinary save to keep the deadlock. Drazic also got a chance to open the goal tally when he got an accurate long pass inside the ball, which he tried to be cheeky and scoop over the keeper. But the same way the opponent keeper saved the ball, Muheet saved the ball from point blank.

Other than this, the half relatively remained monotonous as the game was primarily played in the midfield, as both teams aimed to keep possession and attack when the opponents gave space. Suhail, Nihal, and Lhungdim were some notable players in the first half for Punjab FC. Nihal and Suhail attacked through the flanks while Lhungdim stood strong in the back, keeping the opponent attackers away. Sandesh Jinghan and Iker were the two players pivotal for Goa, as Jinghan was the only one to defend consistently, and Iker was the key playmaker for his team.

In the second half, Punjab kept attacking, and in the late 50s, Suhail made his dancing moves on the right wing and made a shot, which unfortunately hit the post. But Vidal was lurking inside the box, and he won the rebound to easily find the ball in the back of the net, breaking the deadlock. However, this made the Punjab players comfortable, and they made some absurd substitutions. FC Goa, on the other hand, made some intelligent changes, and these tactics led to them scoring two goals in the dying minutes, winning with the services of Borja Herrera and Yasir to seal their victory. At full time, the score was 2-1 in favour of FC Goa.

Here are the FC Goa vs Punjab FC Player Ratings.

FC Goa Player Ratings

GK – Hritik Tiwari – 6.5/10

Made a sharp dive to his right to make a stunning save, which was destined to be a goal. Had some routine clearances and saves. I was just a spectator when Suhail took the shot. But he did not properly position himself when Vidal collected the rebound and made a shot.

LB – Aakash Sangwan – 5.5/10

He tried to stay strong in the left back, but gave away space in the initial minutes which was capitalized by the opponents as Suhail constantly infiltrated and filled the gaps. Was unable to control the ball properly as he failed to perform well under the pressure put on by Lhungdim. Made a big error which ked to Punjab making a counter attack. Had an average day and was subbed off in the second half.

CB – Odei Onaindia – 6/10

Provided some properly weighted passes that created them some key chances. Was key in providing some key passes through the gaps made by the opponent defenders. Won some duels and stood tall in the second post whenever the team took set pieces. Made a header that went past the keeper. However, the lack of power meant that it was defended on the goal line by the opponent defenders.

CB – Sandesh Jhingan – 7/10

Since his return, the defence looked solid and continued the same performance as he was the one to cover Suhail and block the attempts made by him when he came inside the box, passing Odei and Akash Sanghwan. Made some strong challenges on Giakoumakis whenever the long balls came in from the opponent’s box. Was not afraid to put in challenges. He was the last man to defend, even when there was no hope left.

RB – Boris Singh – 6/10

Shadowed his man, Vidal, beautifully and restricted him from making progress. Understood the seriousness of the role and did it exceptionally. In the second half he also covered Nihal, who was lurking in the attack.

CM – Carl McHugh – 5/10

Did not perform as per expectations. Was beaten multiple times by Suhail. He provided some passes to Borja and Drazic, but at the end of the day, none of them were good enough to create any big impact. Was having only a below-average performance.

CM – Ayush Dev Chhetri – 5/10

Did not have a rather big impact in the first half of the game, other than making a few shots which were ultimately blocked easily by the opponent defenders. Failed to make a large impact and was subbed off after the first half.

LW – Dejan Dražić – 6/10

Was the one to initiate the attack from the left wing, however Lhungdim was a big resistor who made his work difficult. Was booked by the referee in the final minutes of the first half, which made him play safe and kept him restricted for a certain extent.

AM – Borja Herrera – 7/10

Had a brilliant opportunity to open the goal tally when he came 1v1 with the keeper. Tried to be cheeky and scoop the ball over the keeper, which backfired as Muheet somehow put his body to block the ball. Tried to chip the ball in from a distance but the attempt went fatal. However, when his team was losing in the dying minutes and needed the most he took a ball on the chest and took a shot from his weaker foot to make the score equal.

RW – Udanta Singh – 6.5/10

Was silenced by Abhishek Singh for the entire first half. Made some combination play along with Boris in the attack. He attempted to make some passes in the attacking third, but most of them were overpowered. Did not have the best of the days and was subbed off in the second half.

CF – Iker Guarrotxena – 6.5/10

Understanding his danger the opponents approached him physically. Though he was succumbed multiple times to the opponents physicality, a couple of times he managed to win freekicks in dangerous positions. Was seen everywhere in the pitch be it in the attacking third or in the defensive third.

Sub – Sahil Tavora – 6/10

Attempted his trademark long shots a couple of times, but most of them were overhit and went wide.

Sub – Yasir – 7/10

Came in as a substitution and scored the winner in extra time.

Sub – Jay Gupta – 6/10

Sub – Brison Fernandes – 6/10

Sub – Alan Saji – 6/10

Coach – Manolo Marquez – 7/10

Stood calm even when the opponents were having the steering wheel. Made some top-notch substitutions. When the Boris-Udnata combination did not work, he bought in Brison, which changed the pace of the game. He later bought in Yasir, who scored in extra time to win it for his team.

Punjab FC Player Ratings

GK – Muheet Shabir – 6.5/10

His presence of mind and intuition collectively helped him to make a run forward and put his body down when Borja made a tricky shot. Was able to somehow defend the ball and keep the deadlock. Apart from that, he was rarely challenged other than making some routine saves. Lived up to expectations as he kept his eyes on the balls during corners, which came curving inside the goal and could’ve potentially shaken the net too. But everything came to vain as the opponents scored twice in the dying minutes.

LB – Tekcham Abhishek Singh – 6/10

Confidently covered Udanta and kept him less resourceful in the first half. Made some bold and risky back passes to the keeper, but the keeper was calm and composed and properly collected them. Did excellent when Brison came in as a sub and put pressure on him. Stood composed and did his duty in the best manner.

CB – Pramveer Singh – 5/10

Used his strength to put his shoulder in and challenge Iker physically. He was short-tempered in a few instances, and one such unwanted reaction from him added his name to the referee’s book. Made an unwanted challenge even after getting booked, which was a poor decision. Only to his luck, it was not given a second yellow. But later miscontrolled himself in the pace, which finally got him the red card.

CB – Suresh Meitei – 6.5/10

Combining with Lhungdim he properly covered the ground and stopped all the attacks that came from the middle. Was key in making multiple interceptions. Was confident and was pumped with motivation and had the hunger to defend the ball no matter what.

RB – Lhungdim – 6.5/10

Grew up as a player over the seasons, and that exposure was vital for Punjab. Was solid in the right back and marshalled the backline along with his teammates, and kept the backline solid. Made some shoulder-to-shoulder challenges to Sanghwan and kept him away from the Goan Fortress. He was over-committing and was too aggressive sometimes, which put him on the referee’s black list. A deflection from his boots took the ball straight to Drazic, who scored the goal, easily finding them their equalizer.

CM – Nikhil Prabhu – 6/10

Came out of nowhere and positioned him in the first post to beautifully take a powerful header shot, that for one moment, everyone thought was a goal. But apart from that, he did not create any big chances other than some play in the midfield and defence. He was seen exhausted, and the gaffer called him back in the second half.

CM – Ezequiel Vidal – 7.2/10

He tried to make his usual moves in the attacking third, which was properly studied by Boris, who kept him quiet for the vast majority of the first half. Was the impact player for Punjab in the second half as he was present in the box at the right place at the right time to connect the rebound, control it, and take a shot to open the accounts for his team. Was very actively involved in attacks and adding the work to the opponent defenders.

CM – Ricky Shabong – 5.5/10

Made an error very early as he committed a foul just outside the box that could have caused trouble. Felt like he lacked confidence somewhere within him. He was involved in a few duels, and he was decent at winning them. He was booked by the referee in the second half, which again supposedly dropped his confidence.

LW – Nihal Sudheesh – 6/10

Made some accelerated runs in the left wing and made some key chances for his team. Made some shots and created confusion. Got a chance to counter attack, but however was unable to capitalize and tap in the opportunity.

RW – Muhammad Suhail – 7/10

It was tricky on the right flank and managed to confuse Sanghwan and Odei and move inside the box. He even managed to pass through Jinghan a couple of times whenever he tried to cover him. Was the source for all the key passes and crosses that came from the right wing. Set up the opportunity for the opening goal. Was subbed off by the coach as a measure to wrap him in cotton wool if they qualify for the next round.

CF – Petros Giakoumakis – 6.5/10

Started a brilliant counter attack but while coming to the attacking third, he became a tad bit selfish and kept the ball with him for a bit longer eventhough he had other options. Was actively present inside the box to create trouble for the opponents. Made some attempts from a distance, which though did not create a big trouble for the keeper, surely helped the striker to boost the confience. But his impact on the attack was nearly null.

Sub – Leon Augustin – 6/10

Sub – Ashis Pradhan – 6/10

Sub – Mrzljak – NA

Sub – Novoselec – NA

Coach – Panagiotis Dilberis – 6/10

His team performed exceptionally against the giants. However once they took the lead he took some poor decisions by subbing off Vidal which backfired. The bad substitutions laid foundation for his teams loss. However he made a justification that it was due to a change in strategy. At the end of the day he had a bad night.

Sportsdunia Player of the Match is Borja Herrera.