Spanish forward Iker Guarrotxena scored a brilliant hat-trick as FC Goa comfortably defeated I-League side Gokulam Kerala FC 3-0 to reach the Kalinga Super Cup quarterfinals in Bhubaneswar on Monday. Later, Punjab FC produced a clinical display to beat Odisha FC 3-0, setting up a quarterfinal clash with Goa.
Playing at the Kalinga Stadium, FC Goa, who finished second in the Indian Super League (ISL), controlled their Round of 16 tie against Gokulam Kerala from the start. The breakthrough came in the 23rd minute when Guarrotxena converted a penalty, awarded after Dejan Drazic was fouled by Salam Ranjan Singh.
Guarrotxena doubled Goa’s lead in the 35th minute, expertly finishing a pinpoint cross from Aakash Sangwan. Despite Gokulam Kerala showing some fight, Goa remained dominant, and Guarrotxena completed his hat-trick in the 71st minute to seal the emphatic 3-0 win.
In the day’s second match at the same venue, Punjab FC booked their quarterfinal spot with an impressive 3-0 victory over Odisha FC. Asmir Suljić gave Punjab the lead in the 14th minute, cleverly dinking the ball over the goalkeeper after being played through by Ezequiel Vidal.
Vidal then scored a superb second goal himself in the 69th minute, beating his marker before unleashing a fine left-footed strike from outside the box. Substitute Nihal Sudeesh completed the scoring in the 90th minute, calmly finishing after being set up by a long pass from Manglenthang Kipgen.
The results mean FC Goa and Punjab FC will now face each other in the Kalinga Super Cup quarterfinals.
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