It was a tale of two halves at Tilak Maidan, Vasco Da Gama in Goa. The match between Jamshedpur FC and Odisha FC ended in a nail-biting 2-2 draw with Odisha’s Diego Mauricio being named as the Hero of the Match.
The match kicked off and soon, Jamshedpur FC were ahead with Valskis converting a penalty as an Odisha FC defender committed a hand ball. After JFC got the lead in the 12th minute, the same man, Nerijus Valskis doubled their advantage in style in the 27th minute. At the break of half-time the scoreline remained, Jamshedpur FC 2-0 Odisha FC.
Nerijus Valskis’ brace had provided some breathing space to the Red miners. The second-half kicked off and pressure was clearly visible on the faces of Juggernauts. But, the big break came in the 60th minute. Head Coach Stuart Baxter had played his trump card. Manuel Onwu got substituted and Diego Mauricio came in.
It had been just ten minutes that Mauricio came in, JFC’s goalkeeper was shown a red card for deliberately punching the ball outside the 18-yard box. As a result, Odisha FC got a freekick and Diego Maurcio’s attempt got saved but eventually, the ball came to him after a couple of passes by his teammates who had regained the possession and within no time, Diego netted the ball home. 2-1!
From the 71st minute, Odisha FC begin their hunt for an equaliser. Finally, at 90+2′, once again, the Brazillian number 11 of Odisha FC, Diego Mauricio cuts in and scores an absolute screamer from outside the 18-yard box as the ball hits the back of the net in the top-right corner. Within the next couple of minutes, the referee blows the final whistle and the match ends with Mauricio saving the day for the Juggernauts. It seems like Odisha FC’s investing in the ex-Flamengo striker had espied it’s worth.