On July 20, Neil came all the way to Punjab. The reason why Neil came to Punjab was because Neil would watch the 1st round of the Indian Super League, where FC Goa would challenge Punjab FC away.
Neil came back to watch this game because he saw the news not long ago saying that Kevin Gomez was successfully selected for the matchday list. This was the first time that Gomez was selected for the matchday list of FC Goa.
Of course Gomez was not the starting player, but Neil admired Gomez very much, so he came to watch the game.
A lot of spectators came to this game, and Gomez was one of the reasons.
The main reason is that just three days ago, FC Goa officially announced that it had introduced Indian Striker Robin Singh from Bengaluru FC for 60 Lakhs INR. In today's game, Robin will make his debut after transferring to FC Goa.
Robin left a very deep impression on Indian fans with his dominance alongside Sunil Chhetri In the national team, so after Robin transferred to FC Goa, fans were looking forward to his debut.
Neil is not worried about Gomez's future in FC Goa. Although Robin has come on the front line, Gomez is still young after all. He was able to play in the Indian Super League at the age of 17. Although he is only a substitute player, it is still a kind of training.
Neil didn't know whether Gomez could play today. He might not even have a chance to play as a substitute because there was a Brazilian striker Julio Cesar on the bench. But Neil couldn't help it and wanted to watch it live.
One team is a strong team at the top of the Indian Super League, and the other is a team at the bottom of the list. Everyone thought that FC Goa would have an absolute advantage.
But the game was unexpected. Punjab FC launched a counterattack just in the second minute. Parminder Gill broke through from the left and his shot was saved by Ramakant and accidentally hit FC Goa's defender. Johnson followed up with a shot and Punjab FC took the lead 1-0.
I have to say that Robin is indeed capable. In the next play, Robin will be the most threatening player for FC Goa.
Robin's shots were very threatening, but unfortunately the first half was over and FC Goa failed to equalize the score. In the end, in the first half of the game, Punjab FC temporarily led FC Goa 1-0.
In the second half, Punjab FC stepped up their attack, but Punjab seized on Goa's eagerness to equalize the score.
In the 70th minute, Punjab launched another counterattack with a long pass from the backcourt to hit Goa from behind.
After Amarjit Malhotra received the pass on the left side of the penalty area, facing Goa defender's interference, Amarjit forced a shot and scored, and Punjab actually opened the score to 2-0.
To make matters worse, Robin was tackled by his opponent. Although the opponent received a yellow card, Robin lay on the ground and raised his hands to indicate that he could not continue the game.
Although Neil knew that Cesar the Brazilian would most likely come on as a substitute, he was still very much looking forward to it.
What Neil didn't expect was that the head coach didn't let Cesar play, but chose to let Gomez come on as a substitute.
It turns out that the head coach of FC Goa does not appreciate Cesar, and Cesar indeed has not had any opportunities this season. He has already included Cesar in the cleaning list.
When Gomez saw the head coach actually let him go on the court, he was stunned. He could feel his heart beating violently.
Veteran Raju Gaikwad, who came on as a substitute with Gomez, couldn't help but smile when he saw Gomez's condition, remembering that he was in the same situation when he was young.
Gaikwad put his arm around Gomez's shoulders and then patted him.
"Kevin! The coach wants us to go on the court!"
Gaikwad was very friendly to Gomez. After Gomez was promoted to the first team, Gaikwad developed a liking for this young forward through their training together.
Gomez finally woke up, but he was still very nervous.
"Pay attention to your teammates' passes when you come on the court. I will also try to pass the ball to you." Gaikwad said to Gomez.
"Thank you, Brother Raju!" Gomez replied.
Gomez quickly calmed down his nervousness and came on as a substitute with Raju. At the same time, the camera was also focused on Gomez and Gaikwad.
"Yes! FC Goa made a substitution, Gaikwad came on as a substitute."
"And the player next to him, I believe there are still fans who don't know him. He is the striker Kevin Gomez from FC Goa, who is 17 years old this year." The commentator introduced Gomez.
"Gomez is highly trusted by Neil, the head coach of the Indian National Youth Team, and has quickly become the main striker of the team. Coach Neil once said that Gomez is definitely the best striker of the young generation of India. It is worth mentioning that Coach Neil is also here today."
Many fans of FC Goa know Gomez, but they only know this person. Many of them have not seen Gomez play football. They are full of expectations for this controversial young player.
When Neil saw Gomez come on the court, he began to look forward to Gomez's performance. Neil knew that Gomez was already a very strong player among domestic forwards.
The effect of Gomez coming on the court was immediate. Gomez demonstrated the role of a standing center forward and scored a very threatening header at the beginning of the game.
Of course, Gomez cannot be compared with Robin. Whether it is football skills or attacking methods, he is not as good as Robin.
In the 78th minute, FC Goa got a free kick opportunity on the right side outside the penalty area, but it was impossible to shoot directly from this position.
It is well known that Gaikwad is very strong in set pieces, so this set piece was undoubtedly given to Gaikwad.
At this time, Gaikwad looked into the penalty area and saw the tall Gomez at first sight. Gaikwad took the free kick. As he said before coming on the court, He was looking for Gomez.
Gomez saw the trajectory of the football and knew that the ball was aimed at him. After he got into a good position, he jumped high and headed the ball. This is his best attacking method.
FC Goa scored their first goal, making the score 1-2! Gomez scored a goal in his first appearance in the Indian Super League!
In the following plays, Gomez was still very active, but in the end FC Goa to equalize the score. In the end, Goa lost to Punjab away.
But for Gomez, this game was definitely worth it. Not only did he play for the FC Goa first team for the first time, but it was also his debut in the Indian Super League and he scored his first goal.