Mumbai City FC played out an electrifying 2 – 2 draw against league debutants Jamshedpur FC in Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 at the JRD Tata Sports Complex on Friday. After having initially taken the lead, the Islanders ultimately had to come back from a goal down to earn a point thanks to a Thiago Santos brace. Speaking to the media during the post-match press conference was Mumbai City’s head coach Alexandre Guimaraes.

While the Costa Rican acknowledged that it was a tough match, he was pleased with the end result. “We knew that it was going to be a tough match,” he said. “We just lost control in the last 7-8 minutes in the first half. Our opponents tried to establish a pattern of the offensive game which was totally different. At the end, we reacted very well after conceding two goals in five minutes. Our modifications in the second half worked, we got the draw and I think we finished the game better than our opponents.”

When asked if he thought that the draw was a fair reflection of the game, the 58-year-old replied: “Today for us, we tried to win the game. We started well but just lost control towards the end of the first half. But it was important to come back alive. The draw is a good result for us because it keeps us with pack of the teams. We have a whole week to prepare for the home games.”

The pitch in Jamshedpur has been under the scanner since the start of the season and Guimaraes was quick to express his displeasure with the pitch that his players had to compete on. “From the games that I have seen, the pitch was not better than the other games (so far),” he opined.