ISL 2017/18: Mumbai City FC coach Alexandre Guimaraes reveals how his plan floored FC Goa
The Fatorda Stadium is becoming quite the venue for exciting games as the spectators were treated to another great night of football that saw 7 goals in 90 minutes. Unfortunately, the local fans had to go home disappointed as a 10-man FC Goa lost 3-4 to Mumbai City FC. The visitors were down 1-2 in the first half but thanks to the red card shown to FC Goa's Seriton Fernandes, Mumbai were able to beat the Gaurs and leave the Fatorda Stadium with all 3 points.
Mumbai coach Alexandre Guimaraes was very pleased with his side's composure and attitude against one of the best teams of ISL. Speaking to the media after the game he said, ''We knew that in this scenario we needed to manage different match situations in the 90 minutes and we handled it really well. In the end, it didn't matter if they played better in the first half. I told the players that we are still in the game and as Goa will press for more goals we will have more chances to exploit the spaces left open in their defence."
He continued, "That was the game plan and I'm happy that the players stuck to it. This is a very important victory for us as it's not an easy task to come here and win.''
Guimares emphasized on how his research and groundwork on the FC Goa team along with the efforts of his players were the secret behind the result. He said, ''Because of the way they play I knew that they would not be satisfied with a draw. So we continued to stick to our game plan and we waited to hit them on counter.''
The coach was at the center of attraction in the second half as he was involved in a verbal argument at the touchline with Manuel Lanzarote but he avoided the topic by jokingly saying, "Just like how they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, what happened on the pitch today stayed on the pitch.''
With the win on Sunday, Mumbai City FC did the double over FC Goa and the coach was quick to point how his team was in high spirits after the result, "We beat them twice, we beat them home and we beat them here. You never know what will happen in the end so now we have this huge advantage in case something goes wrong in the next few games. We won against an opponent who are closest to us and that will certainly put pressure on them."