The high pressure and stakes sometimes make games like these attritional and cautious, but not this one.
Up popped that man Sahil Tavora again, deep into stoppage time, to send his team, the Fatorda stadium and the whole of Goa into raptures! The 9 goals scored remains an ISL record for the most goals in a single game. First, FC Goa nudged ahead thanks to Rafael Coelho before an 88th minute penalty from Liverpool legend John Arne Riise looked to have settled things. The last 15 minutes didn’t let up either. With 20 minutes to play, FC Goa’s Sahil Tavora levelled things up. Two goals in the first 5 minutes, and 5 goals in the first half hour saw Chennaiyin up 3-2 at half-time. Nothing evidences that more than FC Goa’s almost ludicrous 5-4 win over Chennaiyin FC in the 2016 Indian Super League. Sometimes a dead rubber can turn into one of the most exciting games in football. Attacking, merciless football for 60 minutes gave their fans something memorable to take home. It remains the highest winning margin in this competition and was a timely reminder of why FC Goa finished top of the league table that season. Dudu Omagbemi followed him and ended up with a hat-trick as well! Reinaldo Oliveira’s goal in stoppage time completed the scoring with FC Goa having put 7 goals past a hapless Mumbai City FC defence. Thongkhosiem Haokip started it all and ended with a hat-trick. What followed was one of the most astonishing games of football in the history of this tournament. With 34 minutes played and the score at 0-0, fans would have been forgiven for thinking this would be a low scoring affair settled by a piece of magic.