"Game was lost in the first half" Mumbai City FC coach Des Buckingham reflects after loss against Bengaluru FC
Mumbai City FC were defeated at the hands of Bengaluru FC on Monday in the Indian Super League (ISL) by a scoreline of 0-3. With this loss, the Islanders are now on a five-match winless streak, earning only two points in their last five matches. Danish Farooq's goal and a Prince Ibara brace in the first half sealed the deal for the Blues as they cruised towards a comfortable victory.
Mumbai City FC head coach Des Buckingham believes the team lost the match in the first half. While answering the media's questions after the match, Buckingham said:
"I thought we started the first ten minutes very well. And then I think the reaction to the goal that they scored, we didn't react the way we should and the first half got away from us. I was very happy with the second half, but the first half got away from us and that's where the game was lost."
However, the Englishman is not hitting the panic button yet. He expressed his trust in his boys, saying that they're the same group of players who won five out of the first six matches. He said:
"we won't get too carried away with where we are right now, same way we didn't when we won five out of six. It's the same group of players. We're very capable of playing that style of football, and we're showing good patches of that in the second half. It's just making sure that we prepare as well as we can now for Kerala, because that'll be another good game for us to get back on track."
Not our night.
#MCFCBFC #MumbaiCity #AamchiCity 🔵 https://t.co/St9gVZLjui
Des Buckingham and Mumbai City FC will face tough challenges this weekend when they face current league leaders Kerala Blasters FC. If the team wants to retain their silverware from last season, they will need to get their caravan back on track. The coach spoke about their plans for the same and said:
"we will take the consideration of all eleven games now that we've played. We'll look at what we've done well and we'll try and address the areas that we're going to need to do well in the next nine games, because every game that we've got in the next nine games, because every game that we've got that we react in a positive way."
"We deserved to score some more goals" - Marco Pezzaiouli after thumping win against Mumbai City FC
Bengaluru FC head coach Marco Pezzaiouli was a happy man after his side's victory against Mumbai City FC. He also felt that his team deserved to score some more goals in the first half. He said:
"First of all, a compliment on the team, very good work. I think we deserved to score some more goals, especially in the first half. We had a lot of chance before the half time to go with four or five goals in front. The clean sheet was also nice."
The Blues have had 15 shots in the first half here at the Fatorda, five times as many as Mumbai City FC. #WeAreBFC #MCFCBFC https://t.co/DisCbGI0JN
With this result, Bengaluru FC would have gained the confidence to continue their playoffs quest. With a tough match against ATK Mohun Bagan coming up, Marco Pezzaiuoli has a big task at hand. The Italian, though, isn't worried. He said:
"The important part is you have the next game, against ATK Mohun Bagan, a difficult game, the same high pressing team. They have a new coach, new style and I think let's enjoy tonight, recover good and face the next game. They are strong but I don't think about the future. The next game is an important game."