Mumbai City FC succumbed to a 2 – 0 defeat at the hands of local rivals FC Pune City in Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 at the Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday. Diego Carlos and Marcelinho struck in either half as the Islanders lost their fourth home game on the trot. The result leaves their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs hanging by a thread and speaking to the media during the post-match press conference was Mumbai’s head coach Alexandre Guimaraes.

The Costa Rican explained what went wrong for his team. “Again, it is a story that we have always seen,” he said. “We played well, created a lot of chances, but for one reason or the another, we could not convert them. But when the situation came for them, they took their chances from the situation. In the second half, we had a great chance to draw, but we could not take it. Then we had to take risks, and they got another situation from which they scored.”

The 58-year-old admitted that the loss was hard to digest given they had found a flow to their game. “In the beginning, we missed too many balls in midfield and exposed our defence,” Guimaraes explained. “After that, we adjusted the game in the way we wanted to play. But in the end, you have to take your opportunities. We knew we had to do whatever we could to at least get a draw. But we lost, so it’s hard.”

However, Guimaraes still harbors hopes of making it to the playoffs if Mumbai win all their remaining matches. “We still have 12 points to play for,” he stated. “If we win the four games that we have, we can still have a possibility. Now, we have to think about giving our best, not make mistakes and we cannot even afford to draw.”