Indian Super League club FC Goa finished third in their group standings of their first ever appearance at the AFC Champions League.
The Gaurs lost 2-0 to UAE Pro League club AL-Wahda on Thursday.
FC Goa had to send their foreign players back home along with their support staff, including head coach Juan Ferrando, who headed back to Spain due to the rising COVID-19 pandemic in India.
The club decided to play with an all-Indian team against Al-Wahda in their final game of the tournament and they did come up with a defiant performance.
As expected, Al-Wahda dominated possession but could not get a clear sight of FC Goa’s goal. Goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh was tested on multiple occasions but he came up with some decent saves to keep the scores level at half-time.
The UAE based side attacked with more urgency in the second half and were rewarded with their first goal in the 61st minute courtesy of Omar Khribin.
The Gaurs tried hard to breach Al-Wahda’s defence but never really managed to test their goalkeeper enough as they lacked creativity in attack.
Al-Wahda then scored a second goal in the 90th minute to end the tie.
Regardless of this result, FC Goa should be proud of their achievement this season from their debut AFC Champions League campaign.