Perfection on a football field, you ask? Can it get any better than the pass Mohammad Yasir gave from the outside of his left boot to Udanta Singh in the 33rd minute of FC Goa‘s 2-0 win over Hyderabad FC? The former Nawab, overcome by emotion, refused to celebrate given that this ‘assist of the season’ came against the club that had nurtured and nourished him since the franchise was called Pune City.
While catching up with IFTWC, Yasir was visibly elated by his feat and confident of lapping up any praise coming his way. However, he was respectful of the fans at the Maidaan in Gachibowli who had backed him to the hilt when he had worn yellow and black and who had stood by silently as he went to Goa, first on loan and then permanently following the salary crisis that hit the Nawabs last season.
“I felt a little sad since I have so many memories with Hyderabad, and it is a club that has given so much to me. But I suppose that is football. You must live in the present and try to create as many chances as possible for your team. I respect Hyderabad and their fans a lot – I cannot put into words the love and affection they gave me during my time here, which is why it felt a little sad that Hyderabad lost that game,” said Yasir.
The assist was a touch of class by Yasir, and no words could be enough to describe the joy a football lover would have felt on seeing it. Seeing it in the flesh in front of a raucous crowd made it all the better. The Manipuri right winger won the ball against Hyderabad left-back Parag Shrivas in the Goa half and drove past to see the host center-backs Muhammad Rafi and Stefan Sapic shielding Udanta Singh, who was rushing in from the right wing.
However, what Yasir saw then was perhaps not seen by anyone on the field or outside it: a slight gap between Rafi and Sapic. He played an angled through the ball in this gap, which was picked up by Udanta, who rushed forward and slotted it calmly past the rushing Hyderabad goalkeeper Lalbiakhlua Jongte. Ecstatic and having taken a knock, Yasir fell to the floor, perhaps thanks to a God who had made it possible for him to return home and put up such a showing.
“You know, we do these drills all the time in training and wait for chances to come our way in matches. I have been working extremely hard to make such runs on the counter and try to find the final pass for a more forward-placed teammate. By God’s grace, it all came out today. I like to work a lot on my out-step; in fact, it is one of the strongest aspects of my game. I generally like playing balls from my out-step. I work very hard on this in training, and luckily, it came off today,” he said.
“I looked up and saw that Udanta bhai was waiting in a good position. So all I had to do was beat their player, push for a while, and find a ball that landed straight on Udanta bhai’s feet. There was not much time to see where he was waiting; I just saw a tiny gap between their central defenders and decided to go for it with the outside of my left foot. The rest, as you saw, is that things fell into place nicely, and Udanta bhai was able to score the goal,” Yasir added modestly.
“Our coach (Manolo Marquez) often tells us to be ready for the counter-attack” – Mohammad Yasir
Yasir also spoke about the tactics that head coach Manolo Marquez likes to implement on the field. The 26-year-old worked extensively with the Spaniard during both of their tenures in Hyderabad, and it is a happy reunion of sorts to see them combining to give endless glee and joy to the Goan fans, who have long been starved of such artistic beauty on the pitch. Perhaps this might even become a title or two for the Gaurs and their long-standing supporters.
“Our coach (Manolo Marquez) often tells us to be ready for the counter-attack if we are free and makes sure that we drive and push hard. That goal also came from a counter-attack movement. We know how important it is to score goals on the counter as it can completely catch the opposition team unawares,” said Yasir.
Goa’s job is far from over, even though they are ranked fourth in the ISL table with 18 points inside their kitty. They next travel to the Sree Kanteerava Stadium to take on Bengaluru FC on Saturday, December 14. Yasir knows how important it is to pick up all three points and establish themselves at the top of the table. Their opponents, of course, are second in the league with 23 points of their own.
“Picking up all three points was important in this game against Hyderabad. Now, we are prepared to take on Bengaluru away from home, which is also a challenging fixture. We know what we need to work on and where to improve despite winning handsomely in Hyderabad. Every game is important for us, and we need to keep picking up three points each time we step onto the field for Goa,” he concluded.
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