Mumbai City FC clinched their first victory of Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2018-19 with a 2-0 win over FC Pune City at the Mumbai Football Arena on Friday. Goals from Modou Sougou and Rafael Bastos in the first half were enough for the hosts to get over the finish line. Lucian Goian could have scored a third in added time from the penalty spot, but Vishal Kaith produced a brilliant save to deny him.

At the post-match press conference, head coach of Mumbai City, Jorge Costa was present to share his views on the match. The Portuguese coach started off by highlighting the improved performance of his players, though stressing that there is still room for improvement. “It was a good first half. As a team, we were much more aggressive without the ball. We did better things with the ball than in the other games. But we can and we must do better. We are still building this team with a lot of new players. It is not easy because we need points, but I am confident that we can do better.”

The Islanders kept their first clean sheet of the season and Costa attributed this in large parts to the partnership between Goian and Subhasish Bose at the back. “Subhasish didn’t make the pre-season campaign with us. When we came to India, I thought of playing him as a full-back. After certain injuries, I took the decision to play him as a centre-back. Today, the two of them played much better than the last game together.”

Speaking about Pranjal Bhumij’s cameo appearance, the 47-year-old was pleased with the youngsters’ recent performances which have helped the side immensely. “I am happy with him. That’s why he played 15-20 minutes today. He is working well. In the last game, he got in, scored and got us a point. Today, he got in and helped us take the three points. I know it’s not easy, but that’s what I want from the players. “

From Pune’s end, head coach Miguel Portugal was present to take questions from the media. The Spaniard was vividly disappointed with the final result, pointing to the mistakes committed on the pitch. “Well, in general, I think we deserved more. We had a lot of chances to score a goal but today was not our day. We made mistakes with the first and second goal and those decided the match.”

The Spaniard, however, reserved his praise for custodian Kaith, despite him not being able to keep a clean sheet. “My goalkeeper is good. I think Vishal’s performance was good. Today, he may not have been very involved as Mumbai had five chances, scored two goals, one of which was a penalty. The goalkeeper today did well, but in football, if you do not score the goal, it’s impossible to win.”

Click here to read the match report.