Mumbai City FC registered their first win of Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 against FC Goa at the Mumbai Football Arena on Saturday. The Islanders beat Goa 2-0 in front of their home faithful after goals from Everton Santos and Thiago Santos handed the visitors their first loss of the season. Speaking to the media at the post-match press conference, Mumbai head coach Alexandre Guimaraes claimed he was proud with the character his side showed after the Gaurs equalised in the 84^th minute.

“I think today we showed a completely different face of Mumbai City FC, and we fight very hard to get this win. The game was as we thought it would be – a tough game, but I also think it was the type of game that ISL needs for the promotion of football here in India. These types of games are what fans come to the stadiums for. It stimulates the football, and is very satisfying. I am very proud of my players, because they never lost faith. It’s hard to take a draw in the last minute, but they get up again and still fight to get a chance, and we got it. We did what we spoke to the players about, in terms of winning our first game at home, and that’s why I am very satisfied with the performance of the team today,” Guimaraes said.

On his half-time team-talk when the sides had failed to break the deadlock, Guimaraes added: “Well, first of all, I think the teams were closer to each other in the second half than they were in the first half. We were not well synchronised, so they passed our pressure with ease. In the second half, we just got back a little bit and closed the spaces they were finding. The team improved, and of course, we told the players that there were 45 minutes more to play and to go for it and to be more aggressive.”

Mumbai conceded for the second game running, however, Guimaraes didn’t seem perturbed, when a contrast between his side’s defence last season and in the present one, was raised. “It’s difficult to compare teams, because there are different players now. We are trying to get this balance to attack, but when we are attacking, to continue to defend well, to be well positioned, and not allowing the other team to cause damage (is difficult). I think that we managed better today than the last game, and of course, winning always brings more courage, enthusiasm, belief, and I know for sure, that with this belief and the way we won, it will help us to improve in all departments,” he said.

Looking ahead, the Costa Rican head coach spoke about the need to recover well before their next encounter. “What we have to work upon now is to recover from this battle. Players by the end of the game were exhausted, so, we have tomorrow and day after tomorrow to recover. And then on Tuesday, we will see what we do for our next game,” Guimaraes said.