FC Goa demolished ATK at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa on Wednesday to register a thumping 5-1 victory and rise up to fourth in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 table. Manuel Lanzarote’s brace and a goal each from Ferran Corominas, Sergio Juste and Mark Sifneos lay bare ATK’s defensive weaknesses, as the defending champions could only reply back with a sole Robbie Keane goal of their own. Post the final whistle, indiansuperleague.com caught up with one of the goalscorers of the night, Sifneos, who scored his first for his new team, to find out his views on the match and more. Here are the excerpts.

How important was it to win this game?

It was a very important game. We had to win this game, like the last game in Pune (against FC Pune City). This game was as important as that game because now, it’s a little bit easier for us to go to the playoffs as we only need a draw (against Jamshedpur FC). So, it was a very important game and I think, we did very well.

Talk us through your goal.

To be honest, I don’t remember how my goal was set up, that is, the beginning period. But I remember a high ball, the defender making a bit of a mistake and then I took the ball, I think, 25 metres from the goal, dribbled a bit and made a good finish.

Goa scored three goals in 20 minutes. How crucial was a good start tonight?

I was very important. In such a crucial game, it is very important to score a fast goal and I think, we did that very well. We scored three goals but I would not say that the game was finished because in football anything can happen. But it made the game a lot easier for us.

Any message for the fans?

I am very happy that they come for every game - home or away and support us. I believe we can make them happy with a semi-final berth, as that is something the team deserves and the fans as well.