FC Goa 2024-25 Season Review: From rut to redemption

From stumbling out of the gates to flying mid-season, flirting with the title, falling just short, and still walking away with some silverware – FC Goa’s season was a drama from start to finish. It had all the ingredients of a blockbuster; living up to the vibrant and chaotic charm that Goan football so often promises.

The 2024-25 season was always considered as a turning of a page at Goa, before the games even began. With Manolo Marquez expected to leave the Gaurs for the Indian National team at the end of the season, it was always expected to be a season that preceded serious changes.

However, as they dreamt of the summit and got caught in the thought of changes, they forgot to shift gears, and momentum stalled. Goa slipped into a rut, with just one win from their opening six games, leaving them 10th on the table.

Goa’s early struggles were just about inefficiency. Despite decent displays, their defence, strong on paper, kept leaking goals.

It wasn’t effort that Goa were missing – it was presence. Sandesh Jhingan’s return bought exactly that.

Though not a new face, his comeback felt transformative. The defence, shaky without him, found its structure again. What crumbled in his absence then stood strong.

With Jhingan at the back, the gears finally shifted well, and Goa surged on with purpose. Maybe it was old-school leadership or maybe he’s Goa’s clutch.

With Jhingan in charge, Goa shifted into top gear. From 6 points in the first six matches, they hit 42 from the remaining 18 league matches. Defensively too, they transformed, keeping eight clean sheets after an opening run without any.

Pivotal Moment

Sure, lifting silverware might seem the obvious best moment, but the real turning point came earlier: Matchweek 7, when Goa thrashed Bengaluru FC 3-0. It was the moment when FC Goa’s season kicked into gear.

To understand why this was the moment, you need the context. Goa were 10th with a solitary win in six matches.

Bengaluru were unbeaten and on top of the table. They had five wins in six matches and had one goal conceded in all. Everything leaned their way.

Goa’s only positive coming in was that Jhingan could start a game, finally.

And that proved to be enough. Goa held Bengaluru to eight shots, just one troubling the keeper. The pressure they’d built in past games now paid off – a Capo mistake opened the scoring, and Gurpreet’s error set up Brison Fernandes for another. Momentum had finally swung their way.

Drazic’s injury-time strike wrapped up a 3-0 win – their first clean sheet of the season and Hrithik Tiwari’s first in the ISL too.

The run that began then briefly lit up a distant title challenge but Mohun Bagan were too far ahead and too relentless.

Still, 48 points made Goa runners-up and deservedly so. Not quite close enough to the summit (8 points off), but well above the chasing pack, who trailed them by at least ten.

Rising Stars

Looking back, two players stood tallest – one who guarded the net, and the other who rattled it. Hrithik and Brison were standout performers at opposite ends of the pitch, and both deserve full credit for the roles they played in Goa’s journey.

Being the youngest goalkeeper in the league, Hrithik's inclusion in the starting XI was obviously under scrutiny especially in a team under pressure to perform.

But he answered with calm, composure, and clean sheets.

Hrithik didn’t just take the chance, he excelled. Second-best save rate, one of only two with a positive goals-prevented rate, and the youngest penalty saver this season.

If not for Vishal Kaith’s heroics, Hrithik’s calm consistency might have got some golden glove buzz.

A part of FC Goa’s set-up from 2016, Brison climbed all the way from the U16s to the senior team. He has been in and around the senior team dynamics since the 2021-22 season.

It was in the 2022-23 season that Brison first caught the wider eye in ISL circles. Under Carlos Peña, he clocked just over 240 minutes, yet managed to score three times from only eight shots.

That should’ve been warning enough about this potent threat he was. But Brison had to wait. In the 2023-24 season, he clocked just 68 minutes across seven appearances, though he still produced an assist. Then, in 2024-25, the floodgates finally opened.

That night against Bengaluru didn’t just mark a shift in Goa’s season, it lit up Brison’s scoring charts too. Gurpreet’s cheap giveaway was found and precisely lobbed back. The ball soared, dipped, and nestled in.

It started with a goal and soon, he was unstoppable. Seven goals and two assists later, he was named the league’s Emerging Player of the Season. Not just for the numbers, but for the moments that mattered.

He had the second-best goal tally by an Indian, joint-second in total goal involvements, and the most goal contributions ever by an Indian player in a single ISL season for FC Goa. And if you had to pick a best goal of the season; the options are aplenty in his catalogue.

And in the shadows of those moments stood Borja Herrera, the architect behind four of Brison’s goals. Together, they blitzed through defences.

Overall, FC Goa had a strong league campaign, though it ultimately ended in disappointment. Finishing second in the league, they put together a dramatic comeback in the semifinals – overturning a 2-0 first-leg loss to draw level in the second leg. However, a last-gasp winner from Bengaluru eliminated their hopes and denied them progression to the final.

It would’ve been harsh if Goa ended the season trophyless. The Super Cup offered redemption, and they took it.

Wins over Churchill, Punjab, and Mohun Bagan set up a final against Jamshedpur, where they cruised to a 3-0 win. It was their second Super Cup, a historic achievement, and booked them a spot in AFC Champions League 2 Prelims.

A season that began with doubts found its redemption in silverware. Yet as the season concludes, questions remain – most notably around Manolo Marquez. Expect an off-season filled with big decisions and bold calls.