Mumbai City FC played out an intriguing 2-2 draw against ATK in the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Saturday. ATK drew first blood but Serge Kevyn’s introduction in the second-half changed the tide of the game as Mumbai notched up the next two goals of the match. However, Roy Krishna’s late goal meant the honours were shared on the night.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Mumbai head coach Jorge Costa praised his team’s performance and said, “It was a very good first-half. When we went to the dressing room, it was 1-0. We had the quality to change the game. But I cannot be happy with the result and the way we conceded. I am proud of all the players, their quality and their spirit. We knew it was a difficult game. It is difficult to be here. But we came here, we had the ball, we had chances, we tried and tried and once again one point is not what we deserved.”

Mumbai played a very physical game to disrupt ATK’s attacking flow on the night. However, Costa backed his team’s aggressive style and said, “To be honest, I enjoy such football. I say that football is a contact sport. It’s 11 against 11 and we have to take important decisions. About the game, as I told you, we came here to fight and try to go back home with the three points. And to be honest I think we deserved to. We should be closer to the top four, and by the end of the season we should be there.”

Sharing his views on one of Subhasish Bose’s tackles on Edu Garcia, which, according to the reporter, could have gotten the defender sent off, Costa opined, “I don’t think Subhasish had a bad game. (For the high tackle on Edu Garcia) He could have been sent off, and other players could have been sent off as well. But that doesn’t mean that they had a bad game. Maybe, he thought he could touch the ball. I am very happy with the performance of all my players.”

The 48-year-old also gave an update on the injury to Diego Carlos, who had to go off the field shortly after half-time. “The medical team will have to look into his injury. I hope it is nothing serious, but I cannot say anything more about his injury,” he said.

Read the match report here.