Indian super league: Herrera’s hat-trick helps Goa win

Led by Borja Herrera's sensational hat-trick, FC Goa secured their first win of their Indian Super League 2024-25 campaign as they edged past hosts East Bengal 3-2 here on Friday.

The visitors started the game brightly as they made some impactful moves into the final third.

The likes of Dejan Drazic, Borja Herrera and Boris Singh made openings early on in the game. Their persistent attacks were soon rewarded when Drazic's cross from the left was parried away by East Bengal goalkeeper Debjit Majumder.

However, the stray ball fell to Borja in space and the Spaniard slotted it into the net in the 13th minute.

The Gaurs kept troubling the East Bengal FC backline with their darting counter-attacks. In such an instance, Boris Singh won possession from Hijazi Maher on the right flank in a dangerous area. The youngster came up with a perfectly weighted cut-back to find Borja in the box, who slammed it home again in the 20th minute to double the lead for the visitors.

East Bengal FC started the second period positively with some penetrative attacks. However, FC Goa regained their two-goal advantage in the 71st minute when Udanta Singh won possession from Hijazi and squared it to Borja in space. The Spanish midfielder cruised his way into the penalty area before rippling the back of the net to complete his hat-trick.