Last night, Mumbai City FC stepped on to the pitch to face Jamshedpur FC at the Mumbai Football Arena, hoping to give over 7500 faithful fans an opening day win. But as the full time score read 2-0 to the visitors, Jorge Costa and his side were made to rue their many missed chances. On another day, it could have been a different story.
Here are the excerpts from the boss’ post match press conference..
On his assessment of the team's performance:
JC: We weren't at our best in the first half. There were periods where we didn't play like we planned to. But we were very good in the second half, creating a lot of chances to score. But I didn’t like the way we played in the last 5 minutes, not because we conceded the second goal but we didn’t play the way we would have liked to.
On MCFC’s failure to convert attacking chances:
JC: In the first half we didn’t create a lot of chances but took some risks in the second half and made some chances and then we were completely off in the last 5 minutes - we lost our organisation and conceded the second goal. The good thing is we had a strong second half and we created a lot of chances,We scored two goals – offside or not, I don’t know, I didn’t see. We were better, we were very close to the goals. With a bit of luck, we could have got the desired result. But that’s how it is and we play again in 2 days against Kerala Blasters.
On the short gap between the first two games:
JC: Yes, but we have to respect the schedule. Of course, recovery time is important, but sometimes when you lose, it's important to play again quickly. There are things in football which will give you 0 points or on other days, 3 points. But life is like that and that’s how things go.
On not having the luck factor on his side:
JC: You could say we weren't lucky. In football, the tough part is not to score, but to get in scoring positions. But then there are factors like luck, quality and lot of other things. Also, we were not playing alone. Their goalkeeper made some very good saves. Now we go back and try and be better for the next game.
On the questionable refereeing decisions:
JC: We have 3 teams playing in a match. There is only one that I can control but other two, I cannot. So I like to only think about the things Mumbai City FC can or cannot do.
