One of Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18’s most enthralling encounters ended in Mumbai City FC’s favour as they secured a 4-3 victory against FC Goa in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa on Sunday. Four different players in the form of Everton Santos, Achille Emana, Thiago Santos and Balwant Singh scored for the Islanders to cancel out strikes from Ferran Corominas and Manuel Lanzarote. Post the thrilling 90 minutes, Mumbai’s 25-year-old custodian Amrinder Singh spoke to indiansuperleague.com and expressed his views on the match. Here are the excerpts.

Your thoughts on conceding late in the first half?

When we conceded the second goal just before halftime, it was a really difficult time for the team to go in, come out and try and get back in the game. Our coach said something really nice when he reminded us that we still had more than 45 minutes to change the scoreline. He told us to give our best and not give up. It was really difficult for us to come back in the match but the team performed very well and we managed to win.

Was soaking up the FC Goa pressure early on in the game, a part of the plan?

Yes, you could say this was our plan because anyone who has seen FC Goa play will know that they are a side that plays attacking football. So, our plan was to be solid in defence and hit them on the counter. We managed to get one goal in the first half and in the second, the team pulled off a great comeback.

How did the red card change the game?

A red card during any game can both shatter a team’s confidence as well as galvanise the other. When they (FC Goa) got the red card, it probably reduced their confidence and filled us with a will to win. We knew that no matter what happened, we had to win this match.

What went through your mind when they made it 3-3 late on?

Personally, when I conceded the third goal, I just told the team to keep their heads up and not give up because we knew that FC Goa are prone to conceding goals, if the opponents are persistent in the attack. So, our plan was to pile the pressure on their defence because a win tonight was imperative for us.