Football
FC Goa vs Qadsia SC: Khabba’s Double Ends Goa’s Challenge League Run
Football · AFC Challenge League · Group C · Match report
FC Goa vs Qadsia SC: Khabba’s Double Ends Goa’s Challenge League Run
Chiki equalised for Goa in Kuwait, but a second Hamza Khabba goal early in the second half sent Qadsia into the quarter-finals and Goa out of the competition.
Hawally, Kuwait, 23 October.
FC Goa’s AFC Challenge League campaign ended in Kuwait on Friday night, when the Indian side lost 2-1 to Qadsia SC at the Mohammed Al Hamad Stadium in Hawally. In the FC Goa vs Qadsia SC Group C finale, Hamza Khabba scored twice for the hosts, Chiki levelled for Goa on 21 minutes, and Qadsia finished the group with three wins from three. Goa ended on three points from three games, level with two other sides, and with only the group winner going through, one win was never going to be enough.
How FC Goa vs Qadsia SC was decided
Qadsia needed only 10 minutes to take the lead. Rashed Al Dosary’s cross from the right found Khabba, who dived to head it into the bottom-left corner. Goa did not let the goal change the game for long. A corner reached Alex Zalaya, whose header dropped kindly for Chiki, and he nodded in from close range on 21 minutes. It was Chiki’s second decisive goal of the group stage, after his 85th-minute winner against Fortis FC on Tuesday.
The half ended level, with chances at both ends. Khabba headed over from close range on 16 minutes, and a Qadsia shot from Bader Al Mutawa was blocked. For Goa, Malsawmsanga shot over the bar, and captain Sandesh Jhingan headed wide from a Muhammed Nemil corner. The numbers bear out how even it was: the two sides finished with two shots on target each.
The game turned early in the second half. Khabba and Al Mutawa swapped a quick one-two at the edge of the area, and Khabba curled the return into the top-left corner on 49 minutes. It was the best moment of the night and, as it turned out, the winner.
| 10′ | Hamza Khabba (Qadsia) | Header from Rashed Al Dosary’s cross |
| 21′ | Chiki (Goa) | Header from close range after a corner, set up by Alex Zalaya |
| 49′ | Hamza Khabba (Qadsia) | Curling finish after a one-two with Bader Al Mutawa |
| Cards | Qadsia: K. Ebrahim, Gbo, Al-Mutar, Al-Fadhli. Goa: Zalaya | Four yellow cards for Qadsia, one for Goa |
The second half of FC Goa vs Qadsia SC
Goa made four changes between the 62nd and 84th minutes, but Qadsia had the clearer chances to settle it. Ayoub Lakhdar lifted an effort over the advancing goalkeeper Lara Sharma and the crossbar on 65 minutes, and on 80 minutes another Lakhdar shot hit the right post. Goa could not find a second equaliser, and Qadsia completed a perfect group record.
The Sofascore statistics for FC Goa vs Qadsia SC describe a match with very little between the sides. Possession was an even 50-50, Qadsia took 7 total shots to Goa’s 6, and the corner count was 6 to 4 in the hosts’ favour. The difference was in what the teams did with their best moments.
What the table says after FC Goa vs Qadsia SC
In the final table, Qadsia won Group C with nine points from three games, a goal difference of plus five and only one goal conceded. They are the only side from the group to reach the quarter-finals. Goa finished on three points from a win over Fortis FC and defeats to Regar-TadAZ and Qadsia, with four goals scored and five conceded.
Goa’s group came down to margins. Both of their defeats were by a single goal, 2-1 against Regar-TadAZ on 17 October, after Goa had led, and 2-1 here. Fortis and Regar-TadAZ also finished on three points, so the order below Qadsia depends on which tie-breaker is applied, but only the winner advanced, so the order did not change Goa’s fate.
| Team | W | D | L | GF-GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qadsia SC | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6-1 | 9 |
| FC Goa | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4-5 | 3 |
| Fortis FC | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4-6 | 3 |
| Regar-TadAZ | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3-5 | 3 |
What FC Goa vs Qadsia SC means for Indian football
An Indian side leaving a continental group stage after a one-goal defeat is a familiar story, and the FC Goa vs Qadsia SC result will be felt for that reason. Goa were not outplayed in Hawally: they matched Qadsia on possession and shots on target and scored through a set-piece. What they could not do was repeat the chance quality of Qadsia’s two goals, one a clean cross-and-header, the other a one-two finished with precision.
There is also credit due. Goa started the group with a defeat, beat Fortis FC with a winner five minutes from time, and went into the last game with their qualification hopes alive. That is not the record of a side that gave up, and after FC Goa vs Qadsia SC the two one-goal losses suggest the gap in this group was small.
