FC Goa coach Juan Ferrando reveals why he rested Igor Angulo and played Jorge Ortiz Mendoza against Jamshedpur
FC Goa extended their unbeaten run in the 2020-21 Indian Super League (ISL) season to four matches after they beat Jamshedpur FC 3-0 on Thursday. The win at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao helped the Gaurs to move up to third spot in the league table. They now have 18 points from 11 matches.
Juan Ferrando made two changes to the side that held SC East Bengal 1-1 in their previous encounter. Mohammad Nawaz and Igor Angulo saw themselves on the bench as Naveen Kumar and Alberto Noguera started.
The exclusion of Angulo was particularly surprising as the Spaniard is the leading goalscorer in the ISL.
"Igor (Angulo) had an illness in the last two-three days but yesterday he felt better. This morning I spoke with him and we decided it is possible to put him on the squad, but not in the first eleven. We have 25 players and we believe on all players. The most important for us was to prepare for the game and to work with the players we have," Ferrando said.
Jorge Ortiz Mendoza played as the lead striker for FC Goa and exploited the space between the Jamshedpur FC defenders. The Spaniard's efforts paid dividends as he netted a brace.
Ferrando, however, revealed that the tactic was specifically made against the Red Miners.
"At the end, every game is different. Against ATK (Mohun Bagan), it won't be the same plan. Today we were prepared with this position for (Jorge) Ortiz (Mendoza) because we knew about (Peter) Hartley and (Stephen) Eze. We know we could score like this against Jamshedpur FC. We prepared some details of the space behind the defense and took this decision. For different games we prepare different plans. This is our job of coaching staff," he said.
"We missed some big opportunities" - FC Goa coach Juan Ferrando
FC Goa could have scored goals against Jamshedpur FC, but the Gaurs failed to capitalize on all the opportunities. For instance, in the 12th minute, Alexander Romario Jesuraj's heavy touch let him down after he received a brilliant pass.
"At the end, this is football. We had 6-7 opportunities to score goals. We are not happy because we missed some big opportunities. One against one, for (Alexander) Romario (Jesuraj) for example. One time with Ortiz as well. We have to improve because for us it's important to score," Ferrando concluded.
FC Goa have only two days to prepare for their next match against ATK Mohun Bagan. A win against the Kolkata outfit would take them to the second spot in the ISL table behind league leaders Mumbai City FC.