Jamshedpur FC picked up their first victory of the 2018-19 season of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) with an impressive 2-0 away win against Mumbai City FC at the Mumbai Football Arena on Tuesday. Goals from debutants Mario Arques and Pablo Morgado sealed the victory for the away side, much to the dismay of the hosts, who created plenty of chances for themselves to swing the result in their favour, but lay vanquished at the end of 90 minutes.

Cesar Ferrando, head coach of Jamshedpur, took questions from the media at the post-match press conference. The Spaniard was delighted to get his tenure off to a winning start. “I think we played the first hour very well and then, Mumbai played very well. In the last 15 minutes, we tried to keep the lines together and to keep the save because we knew we could have another chance. We won and we are very happy.”

Jamshedpur held a 1-0 lead for a majority of the game and this was largely down to their compact defending. Ferrando admitted that the Islanders put them under a lot of pressure, but he was proud of his team for holding on. “Mumbai pushed a lot. First of all, some people think Jamshedpur held back a lot, some think Mumbai pushed a lot. I think Mumbai pushed a lot and that’s why we had to throw back and defend. They are a good team and we are proud.”

Subhasish Roy put in a brilliant performance on the night, producing a string of fine saves to keep the Islanders at bay. Ferrando commended his shot-stopper’s fine display, which contributed to the side’s victory. “Yes, my keeper performed really well. He’s another player in the team and we need to play like one good unit. He did his work and I am happy for him. He did really well and made some good saves. “

From Mumbai’s end, head coach Jorge Costa was present to take questions. at the post-match press conference. The Portuguese coach was evidently disappointed with the final result after they had performed valiantly on the night. “The first half was not so good and the players were knocked off with the ball. It’s normal as it’s the first game. But, we had a very good second half. We had a lot of chances to score and then in the last five minutes, we were disappointed. Not because we conceded the second goal, but because we couldn’t play well in the last five minutes.”

Costa also touched upon the chances created by his side in the second half, including the two goals which were ruled out due to offsides. “In the second half, when we attacked more, we got more chances. But, we had a problem converting those chances. In the last five minutes, we lost complete organisation and that’s why we conceded the second goal. That’s why I didn’t like the last five to seven minutes. We created chances and scored two goals, but it was offside. In two days, we will play again and it’s okay. We want to play as well as possible.”

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