FC Goa went back to the top of the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 table with a commanding 5-2 victory over Mumbai City FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa on Wednesday. For the Islanders, the loss was a big blow to their top four ambitions with Chennaiyin FC breathing down their necks.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Goa interim head coach Clifford Miranda stated, “It was a brilliant game. It was a very good contest between two good teams, both wanting to win. There were plenty of chances for both sides but I felt that we, except for the opening 15 minutes of the second half, were in control. We created chances and scored.”

“It was a very good performance and that too when we needed it the most. At this stage of the competition, it’s paramount to get the result. It was a terrific performance and a very good result which takes us closer to our objective,” he added.

Despite their terrific attacking display on the night, Miranda reserved special praise for goalkeeper Mohammad Nawaz and stated, “Football is not only about scoring. I think Mohammad Nawaz, towards the end of the first half, made a terrific save which gave us the momentum.”

From the Mumbai camp, head coach Jorge Costa attended the post-match briefing. Asked what went wrong, he said, “It’s difficult to explain, especially because this has happened in almost all games we have played against Goa. We tried, we played, we worked. We had more shots on target than Goa. But they have quality. Today the goalkeeper of FC Goa was amazing. And they won. We lost the game because we made mistakes. At this level, we cannot expect anything more than losing the game from such mistakes.”

“We will not give up. Yes, it is true that conceding five goals is bad. But we will not give up. We have one more game to play in the league stage. It was a bad result, but it was not a bad game. We made individual mistakes. We had more shots than Goa. Individual quality today made the difference. Playing against the quality of the players that they have, making mistakes is not right,” he added.

On how the loss affects their top four ambitions, the Portuguese opined, “Nothing’s changed. Before the game, we knew that by beating Chennaiyin in the last game, we can finish in the top four. So, nothing has changed. I hope that the players think about the good things that they are doing since the beginning of the season. They must believe in the work, to believe in themselves. The Chennaiyin game will be the game of our lives. We must be at 100% in all the things we do.”

Read the Match Report here.