AFC Champions League 2021: Al-Rayyan SC Vs FC Goa Live Commentary

Both teams are looking for their first win in the continental competition.

Al-Rayyan SC		FC Goa
	1-1
90' Farydoon		3' Ortiz

FC Goa hold Al-Rayyan for third AFC Champions League stalemate.

Well, a frustrating case of 'so close, yet so far' for FC Goa who will be heartbroken not to get their first-ever win in the ACL after such a heroic effort. Man of the Match Ortiz seems to be near to tears after coming up short in the end and you can understand his disappointment after that result. Al-Rayyan were very sloppy all game long and Goa defended strongly to keep them out after Ortiz's brilliant early opener, but in the end an individual mistake from Dheeraj - marred with confusion with the defender - gifted Farydoon the equalizer. Goa will be kicking themselves for not being able to finish a single of the numerous counter-attacks they created in the second half and wasting a number of chances. The Gaurs are still ahead of Al-Rayyan and in the third place in their group, but will probably lament not getting a win in a game that was there for the taking. We'll be back with action of Goa's final ACL game against Al-Wahda on Thursday. Till the, this is Uttiyo Sarkar signing off for Khel Now. Thank you and good night, Ladies & Gentlemen!

90+4' Dheeraj saves Goa! Al-Rayyan have one last go to get the winner and a blasting attempt is sent on Dheeraj's goal, forcing him to react quickly to parry it away for a corner. Goa do well to defend that corner and are forced to share a point with Laurent Blanc's side.

90+4' Devendra can't get to the ball inside the box and ends up fouling an Al-Rayyan player.

90+3' Bedia tries to curl the ball into the back of the net but his freekick hits the wall and Romeo's shot from the rebound goes wide.

90+2' Goa get a set piece late on after a handball from Yousif. Can Goa get a winner here?

90+1' Four minutes of added time is announced as Seriton wastes a chance by taking an ambitious shot from outside that box that blasts over. Edu Bedia is furious with him for doing so.

90' Heartbreak for FC Goa as Al-Rayyan snatch an equalizer. Abdelaziz does well to get in a cross from an awkward angle which Dheeraj spills and allows the substitute Farydoon blasts into an open net. 1-1!

88' Martins again finds himself outside the box but takes an ambitious shot from an awkward angle that goes way over. His teammates are extremely displeased with his inability to spot them inside the box.

86' UGH! The Gaurs march forward with confidence on a counter-attack as Seriton sprints forward past multiple defenders into the box - but just can't get a shot away or spot a teammate ins pace to end up wasting the move!

84' The visitors look extremely frustrated and tired at this point - so Goa have done an excellent job to diminish their fire. Just need to hold out a bit more for a big reuslt.

81' Al-Harazi attempts a cross from the right-wing but his attempt flies wide over the post to waste another chance. Meanwhile, Dheeraj is booked for time wasting.

80' Goa wins their first corner of the game in the 80th minute thanks to Devendra's clever work. They get another one almost immediately, as the first one is cleared away.

79' Bedia does well to collect the ball close to the half-way line and plays Romeo to march forward - but the winger's poor touch wastes a potential scoring chance for Goa.

77' There seems to be a sense of urgency in Al-Rayyan's game now as they are desperate to get something out of this game. Goa have to be at their sturdiest to see through the coming storm.

74' Al-Rayyan's defender Yousif seems to be injured and goes down in pain after which Goa get a decent counter-attacking chance, but have to put the ball away to give treatment for the defender. Meanwhile, another drinks break takes place.

72' CLOSE! AL-Rayyan again give away the ball in their own area and the ball is quickly played to Martins - who takes a powerful attempt on goal - only to see his shot go barely over!

70' Brandon Fernandes is taken off after an impressive performance with Makan Winkle Chothe replacing him.

68' Romeo playing with fire! A cross is whipped in from the right to the far post and Romeo comes back to powerfully clear it but is lucky to see his attempt not go into his own net. Meanwhile, Al-Rayyan makes another change as Al-Korbi is taken off for Ali Farydoon.

66' Seriton has been brilliant so far and frustrates Al-Hazari - who tries to dribble his way past the defender on the left - but Seriton stands his ground to allow Donachie to clear danger.

64' FC Goa get a ball on the left wing from a promising area and could get a goalscoring chance here. However, the free-kick is a poor one and cleared too easily before any Goa can get a shot on target.

61' Brandon Fernandes is booked for tugging down Brahimi in the middle. The Goa midfielder is protesting his case as he doesn't believe to have had any malice with his tackle.

59' Ooh! Al-Rayyan give the ball away inside their own half to Ortiz, who also loses it before Gama comes out of nowhere to take a shot from afar that goes wide.

58' Blanc looks a worried figure on the touchline as his side struggles to come up with an answer for Goa's astuteness. Al-Rayyan are running out of time to mount any kind of a comeback here.

56' FC Goa makes a double change - with Devendra Murgaokar coming on for Ishan Pandita and Romeo Fernandes replacing Alexandre Jesuraj.

55' What's the referee done here?! Ortiz pulls off some sweet trickery to play the ball from Glan Martins who plays Pandita through on goal and the striker even rounds the keeper before the referee blows the whistle to give Goa a free-kick. Ferrando won't be happy with that!

52' The Gaurs look a bit nervous in this half and are giving the ball away way too cheaply. Need to keep their nerves in check to grind out a win here.

49' Some slick movement from the substitute Alharazi sees him wiggle his way into the box but is dispossessed before being able to take a shot.

47' Strong save from Dheeraj again! A brilliant through ball splits the Goa defence and allows Al-Korbi through, but Dheeraj dives down sharply to save the shot that was going on his goal.

46' The second half kicks off! This time the Gaurs will be attacking from the right to left.

11:34 PM: FC Goa make a change in the break as Saviour Gama comes on for Sanson. The visitors also do the same, with Alaaeldin going of for Abdulrahman Alharazi.

HALF-TIME ANALYSIS: A thrilling end to what was a pretty entertaining half of football! Goa started the game with a fearless attitude and that helped them get the lead in the 3rd minute itself when Jorge Ortiz pounced on defensive miscommunication to score his first goal of the competition. Like in their last meeting, Al-Rayyan struggle to break open Goa's defence and got their chances late on - when Dheeraj produced a nice save to save himself from embarrassment. Boli and Brahimi have both caused a lot of problem with their dribbling ability & creativity but the Gaurs have held strong to preserve their lead well so far. Laurent Blanc will have them motivated to come up with an all-guns-blazing attitude and probably also make early changes, so Ferrando has to make his side sturdier if the Gaurs are to get their first win in their ACL history. We'll be back with second-half action in a bit. Stay tuned, folks!

45+4' DHEERAJ SAVES! He redeems himself after unnecessarily coming out of his line and was almost made to pay as Boli got a shot on but it was saved and parried wide to deny the visitors an equalizer.

45+3' DRAMA! Edu Bedia gives the ball away inside his own box to Brahimi who goes down and demands a penalty, which he doesn't get. Goa sprint forward in a counter-attack and give the ball to Pandita - who attempts to catch the goalkeeper out with a shot from 40+yards out which Soud Alhajri holds onto.

45+1' Four minutes of added time is announced because of all the time-wasting in the first half.

45' Brandon is forced to go down on the pitch as he can't really walk properly after that challenge. The visitors are annoyed that he is wasting time but the midfielder is forced to go to the sidelines to receive treatment.

43' Brandon looks in agony after enduring a crunching tackle from Mohamed Alaaeldin but does not receive a free-kick for it.

42' A very bizarre set-piece routine from Al-Rayyan as the initial corner is cleared away before a player tries a bicycle kick from outside the box which gives the ball away to the Gaurs.

40' DHEERAJ SAVES! Boli is the one who takes his time before whipping in a free-kick which is parried out strongly by Dheeraj. Meanwhile, Ivan Gonzalez is now booked for aggressively bringing down Brahimi in the left wing a few seconds later. He will now miss the last game of the ACL group stages because of it.

39' This time Seriton is on the other hand of a foul, as he brings down Brahimi just outside of the box to hand the visitors a free-kick from a dangerous area.

38' Seriton Fernandes causes all the problems with his tricky forward run and frustrates Yousif Umar to make a reckless challenge that earns him a yellow card.

37' Solid block from Donachie! Khaled Muftah goes past a few bodies and takes a shot from close which is blocked strongly by the Aussie man to deny a shot on goal.

36' Al-Rayyan are being forced to make sloppy passes with Goa's clever game-plan and the visitors don't seem to be comfortable playing in the humid conditions either.

33' Pandita's pressing has been the only highlight of his game so far - as he forces an Al-Rayyan defender to lose possession with some sharp pressing. Meanwhile, a drinks break takes place to help cool off the players.

30' Sanson Pereira looks in discomfort and seems to have hurt his shoulder. He is signalling to the bench for treatment as he seems to have badly hurt his elbow.

29' Chance! A great cross is swung in from the right to Naif Alhadhrami inside the box, but he completely scuffs his volley to give the ball straight to Dheeraj.

28' Goa's game management so far has been pretty impressive - as they're retaining possession smartly and taking their time moving it forward to frustrate the visitors.

25' Al-Korbi is at it again seconds later, tussling Ortiz to the ground with another reckless challenge. He's very lucky to not see red as the referee decides to spare him for now.

24' Abdulrahman Al-Korbi is the first man to be booked after tugging down Ortiz in the half-line area.

23' Brandon is at it again, as he whips an impressive through ball to send Alexander Jesuraj through on the right, but the winger's cross isn't accurate enough to find Ishan Pandita inside the area.

21' Goa get a chance to run at the Al-Rayyan defence as Brandon plays Ortiz through the left-wing channel, but the Spaniard can't dribble past the last line of defence into the box.

19' The visitors have dominated 55% of the possession so far but are struggling to break open Goa's strict backline.

16' Abdelaziz gets some space outside the box and an invitation to shoot, so takes a swipe at goal that goes barely wide of the post. Close!

14' The visitors are now slowly dominating the majority of the possession and pushing forward in an attempt to get an equalizer. Captain Yacine Brahimi is getting heavily involved in creating everything from his central position.

11' Al-Rayyan look a bit unnerved defensively because of Goa's high press and quick attacks today and are taking their time stitching together attacking moves with patient build-up play.

9' DHEERAJ SAVES! James Donachie gets robbed of possession inside the box by Yohan boli - who comes into a central area before shooting on goal - forcing a solid stop from Dheeraj using his legs.

7' Juan Ferrando's side are playing with a sense of freedom now that they have nothing to lose anymore. Ortiz is getting heavily involved in the attacks and moving all over the final third to stitch together moves.

5' Close! Al-Rayyan almost get one back as a great ball is sent inside the box to Abdel Hatim but he can't divert his volley-attempt into goal.

3' GOALLLL! ORTIZ SCORES! A brilliant lobbed through ball is played by Glan Martins into the path of Jorge Ortiz, who goes past his defender and tips the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper into the back of the net. 1-0!

3' FC Goa have started in energetic fashion and look very keen on getting things done. The players are pressing high and they're doing well to restrict the opponent to their own half.

1' The game kicks off! Al-Rayyan are the ones attacking from the right to left.

10:25 PM: The teams have come out of the pitch. They will now take part in pre-match activities before getting things started. Kick-off is on the horizon folks, stay tuned!

10:20 PM: Here's the Al-Rayyan starting XI for today.

Al-Rayyan XI: Al-Hajri, Khalilzadeh, Alaaedin, Muftah, Awad, Umar, Alhadhrami, Alkorbi, Brahimi (C), Boli, Hatim.

10:15 PM: The Gaurs will be pleased to have Edu Bedia - their only goalscorer so far in the ACL - back into the team today. The Brandon Fernandes-Bedia duo needs to work together in tandem to create things for Goa.

10:10 PM: Well, on the positive side, the Gaurs have nothing to lose now. They can play without fear and look for their first win of the competition!

10:05 PM: If FC Goa win both their remaining matches, they will have eight points which is still not enough to surpass Al Wahda. They are hence eliminated, along with Al-Rayyan.

10:00 PM: Persepolis continue to remain at the top of the table (12 points), while Al Wahda (10 points) have consolidated their second place. The Gaurs (2 points) and Al-Rayyan (1 point) follow suit, with one game each in hand.

9:56 PM: Full-time at the Al Wahda-Persepolis game! The Emirati outfit win 1-0!

9:55 PM: The FC Goa starting XI against Al-Rayyan:

https://twitter.com/KhelNow/status/1386717744477859840

9:46 PM: Five minutes and injury time left in the match! As things stand, FC Goa are all set to join Al-Rayyan in the set of teams eliminated from the AFC Champions League.

9:45 PM: Meanwhile, Al Wahda are putting up a solid fight against Persepolis. They currently lead by 1-0 thanks to Tim Matavz's fifth-minute strike.

9:40 PM: FC Goa substitutes: Naveen Kumar, Adil Khan, Leander D' Cunha, Saviour Gama, Amarjit Singh Kiyam, Phrangki Buam, Romeo Fernandes, Redeem Tlang, Makan Winkle Chothe, Devendra Murgaonkar.

9:35 PM: TEAM NEWS IS IN! Here is how FC Goa will line up for their game against Al-Rayyan:

Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem (GK); Seriton Fernandes, Ivan Garrido Gonzalez, James Donachie, Seriton Fernandes; Glan Martins, Edu Bedia; Alexander Romario Jesuraj; Jorge Ortiz Mendoza; Ishan Pandita.

Juan Ferrando has returned to his most-preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, and has included all his first-choice starters in the XI. The same XI was fielded by the Gaurs in the first two Matchdays.

9:30 PM: Welcome to the LIVE COVERAGE of the AFC Champions League match between Al-Rayyan SC and FC Goa from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa!

This is Matchday 5 of the 2021 edition of the AFC Champions League (ACL) and both Al-Rayyan and FC Goa are still looking for their first win in the continental competition. While the Qatari side currently sit at the bottom of the table with just one point, the Gaurs are at third place with two points.

The two teams last faced each other on April 14, on Matchday 1. The game ended goalless and both sides took home a point each on that day. However, a lot has changed since then, as Al-Rayyan have gotten eliminated while FC Goa still have mathematical chances to finish at second place in Group E.

Iranian giants Persepolis lead the Group E standings with 12 points. At second place currently are Al Wahda, who are leading 1-0 against Yahya Golmohammadi and co right now! If the team from UAE goes on to win this game, they will confirm second place and FC Goa will be eliminated.

When you take a detailed look into the Gaurs’ squad, you will also understand that their head coach Juan Ferrando has acknowledged the importance of defensive stability while playing the continental competition. Read our detailed analysis of the FC Goa squad here.

Kick-off is less than an hour away now! As we wait for the final details including the line-ups of both teams, take a look at our Matchday Preview of the game here.

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