"Want to go there with no fear" - Mumbai City gaffer Petr Kratky eyes an improved performance against Mohun Bagan SG in the ISL 2023-24 Final
Six minutes, 10 Indian players, three goals in a jiffy, and Mumbai City had stitched together an astounding comeback victory after falling behind by a two-goal margin against FC Goa in the first leg of the ISL 2023-24 semifinal on April 24. Injected with a wave of confidence, the Islanders walked into the home leg with an air of composure on Monday, April 29.
Second-half goals from Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Lallianzuala Chhangte made the scoreline 5-2 on aggregate as Petr Kratky's men marched into the ISL grand finale to face Mohun Bagan Super Giant, the club that snatched away the League Shield from Mumbai two weeks ago.
Quizzed about the prospect of facing the Mariners once again in a do-or-die encounter, Kratky said in the post-match press conference (via Khel Now):
"It will be a fantastic game. We'll be playing in front of over 60,000 fans, and we already know the quality of Mohun Bagan SG. But we know what we did wrong over there the last time, and will try to improve and be a slightly different team. We just have to recover, regroup, and focus on the final game of the season."
Against Mohun Bagan, the Islanders slumped to a 2-1 defeat on the final matchday of the regular season, surrendering the summit spot. The roaring fans of the Green and Maroon Brigade created a hostile ambiance, and the same is expected in the finale. However, the Czech tactician says his team will have to walk into the fixture without an iota of fear.
"We play away so we have to deal with that. It's happening across the game. It's up to us how we approach the game. We want to go there with no fear and win the match. We fought until the end in Goa in front of 20,000 people, so we have to be strong both mentally and physically," he added.
"Credit to FC Goa how they came here to fight" - Mumbai City FC head coach Petr Kratky
Petr Kratky credited FC Goa for the intense pressure they applied on his team in the initial phase of the semi-final second leg on April 29. The former Melbourne City tactician asserted that MCFC did not come into the encounter to resort to counter-attacks, however, Goa forced them to.
"We don't play for counter-attacks, but it comes with the context of the game. The first 30 minutes we lost a lot of balls, which he otherwise wouldn't. We don't want quick transitions, we want to control the game. But that's a credit to Goa, they were on top of us and we were a little bit deeper than we wanted," Kratky averred.
"But we absorbed the pressure and steadily got back into the game and started controlling the game in the second half. So credit to Goa how they came here to fight for a score and win the game, but also credit to us. We showed we were strong and our defense was strong."
While Mumbai City soaked in the pressure from the Gaurs on the night with absolute resilience, the Mariners will pose a daunting task on Saturday, May 4.