FC Goa were held to a 2-2 draw by NorthEast United FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa on Sunday in Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18. Mandar Rao Dessai broke the deadlock in the first half before Ferran Corominas added to the tally in the second, but goals from Marcinho and John Mosquera ensured the spoils were shared. The Gaurs’ 25-year-old winger Dessai has been a crucial cog in their attacking set-up and he spoke to indiansuperleague.com after the final whistle. Here are the excerpts from the interview.

Thoughts on the draw?

It’s not the result we wanted. We wanted to win this game and we tried our best, but unfortunately, it ended up in a draw. But it’s not a bad result I think, as we have two games in hand.

A goal for you today. How are you feeling?

After a lot of missed chances and opportunities in the last few games, my goal came in this game. I am disappointed because of the draw but otherwise we played really well.

What do you make of the partnership between Corominas and Manuel Lanzarote?

Yes, they played their role in the second goal. They combined together and scored the second goal. But now after so many games, all the teams know about their combination and about the other players too. So now we’ll have to deal with them.

Did Brandon Fernandes’ injury impact the game?

Yes, obviously! He is an important player as all the other players and in the first few minutes he got injured. But we have other players who can perform in his position and they tried their best.

FC Goa are fifth in the table. How do you plan to go ahead?

It’s a very important game because we are playing with the table-toppers Bengaluru FC next. We have defeated them here and now we have to concentrate on the next game and win it.