Kerala seriously wanted that win to get their confidence back on track and also to improve their standings in thr table, atleast for their fans #TheyDontDeserveThat
Probably a day too late in talking about the Goa away game experience but I thought I'd share it anyway.
It was a unique experience for me considering I've only attended all of FC Pune City's home games till now, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect as an away fan in Goa.
I'll have to say first and foremost that the atmosphere at the Fatorda Stadium, particularly in the East Stand is brilliant. Besides that, the FC Goa management do a great job in keeping them chanting all through the game. A special mention here to their announcer who pretty much screams into the mic and gets the fans to chant along. We as the Orange Army did the same as he chanted "FORZA!" we chanted "PUNE!". He does an excellent job and is exacly the kind of announcer us Pune fans crave for at our own stadium. They had a drummer too who walked around every stand before the game and got them to chant "Goa" when he stopped drumming. He felt disappointed in the home fans when he came up to our section and the Pune fans proved to be louder.
Another thing I realised is that the Fatorda Stadium is incredibly loud. I've even attended an IPL game but this was way louder. It wasn't necessarily because of the chanting but because of the horns their fans blow. I guess it's become some sort of a trademark in Goa as I don't see/hear as much of it in other stadiums.
Also have to say that the Fatorda Stadium looks a lot bigger from both outside the stadium and inside the stadium than its capacity of 19,000 would suggest. Not just on TV but even in person. It's a great stadium with a fantastic view from the position we were in in the stadium, and we had great seats too. Pretty much across the halfway line.
To be honest, we did expect booing and abusing. You can probably expect that as away fans. But I guess the line was crossed a bit somewhere. The guy who holds their thermocol bull head came up to our section and made masturbating gestures. Another one of their fans came up to our section, flipped the bird, and even challenged us saying "Bahar aake mil". Then there were incidents when our fans were hit with flag sticks just because they were standing to watch the game and the people behind couldn't see. We had to sit down almost the entire time, which is something the Orange Army never does at the Balewadi Stadium. Then after Eugeneson's equalising goal, I guess some of their fans took exception and even threw half full bottles at our fans.
We did try not reacting to such incidents as we did not want it to create any untoward incidents and turn ugly. Also credit needs to be given to the Goa police who came in later and cornered our section to protect us.
Having said that, I don't regret making the 11-odd hour journey for the game one bit. It was a unique experience being away fans for once and being on the receiving end from the home fans. I'd rather have been with the more vocal fans in the East Stand than the less vocal ones on the opposite side of the stadium (despite the fact that as rightly pointed out by someone, we were almost camouflaged within their orange flags). It certainly made for a great story to tell.
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#TheyDontDeserveThat
It was a unique experience for me considering I've only attended all of FC Pune City's home games till now, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect as an away fan in Goa.
I'll have to say first and foremost that the atmosphere at the Fatorda Stadium, particularly in the East Stand is brilliant. Besides that, the FC Goa management do a great job in keeping them chanting all through the game. A special mention here to their announcer who pretty much screams into the mic and gets the fans to chant along. We as the Orange Army did the same as he chanted "FORZA!" we chanted "PUNE!". He does an excellent job and is exacly the kind of announcer us Pune fans crave for at our own stadium. They had a drummer too who walked around every stand before the game and got them to chant "Goa" when he stopped drumming. He felt disappointed in the home fans when he came up to our section and the Pune fans proved to be louder.
Another thing I realised is that the Fatorda Stadium is incredibly loud. I've even attended an IPL game but this was way louder. It wasn't necessarily because of the chanting but because of the horns their fans blow. I guess it's become some sort of a trademark in Goa as I don't see/hear as much of it in other stadiums.
Also have to say that the Fatorda Stadium looks a lot bigger from both outside the stadium and inside the stadium than its capacity of 19,000 would suggest. Not just on TV but even in person. It's a great stadium with a fantastic view from the position we were in in the stadium, and we had great seats too. Pretty much across the halfway line.
To be honest, we did expect booing and abusing. You can probably expect that as away fans. But I guess the line was crossed a bit somewhere. The guy who holds their thermocol bull head came up to our section and made masturbating gestures. Another one of their fans came up to our section, flipped the bird, and even challenged us saying "Bahar aake mil". Then there were incidents when our fans were hit with flag sticks just because they were standing to watch the game and the people behind couldn't see. We had to sit down almost the entire time, which is something the Orange Army never does at the Balewadi Stadium. Then after Eugeneson's equalising goal, I guess some of their fans took exception and even threw half full bottles at our fans.
We did try not reacting to such incidents as we did not want it to create any untoward incidents and turn ugly. Also credit needs to be given to the Goa police who came in later and cornered our section to protect us.
Having said that, I don't regret making the 11-odd hour journey for the game one bit. It was a unique experience being away fans for once and being on the receiving end from the home fans. I'd rather have been with the more vocal fans in the East Stand than the less vocal ones on the opposite side of the stadium (despite the fact that as rightly pointed out by someone, we were almost camouflaged within their orange flags). It certainly made for a great story to tell.