Edgar Marcelino receives the reward for his efforts. FC Goa’s midfielder Edgar Marcelino has promised greater effort from his teammates and a better result after the home side slumped to a 1-2 defeat against Chennaiyin FC in Margao last night.Describing the sell-out crowd, which cheered every touch by a home player, as their 12th player, the Portuguese No 10 told indiansuperleague.com after the match, “The fans deserved a win but unfortunately, we couldn’t deliver. They cheered us every minute of the game. We have to try to do a little bit more for them.” Reflecting on the encounter, the 30-year-old Marcelino, who started his career with Sporting Clube de Portugal junior team and has played for various clubs in his home country apart from Spain, Cyprus, Morocco and Oman, said that the team gave their best but it wasn’t a good day for them. “I thought we started well. The first 20-30 minutes we were okay, but conceding two goals was not nice. However, we did have 3-4 chances to score in the first half. We were unlucky. It was difficult,” he admitted.Marcelino believed that despite their opponent’s strength in defence, his team were on top for a majority of the game: “I think we controlled the game today, especially in the first half. It’s not easy when you are a goal down.”Indian football will certainly benefit from the quality and experience that international players bring to the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) and Marcelino believes that the tournament is a superb platform for the Indian players to showcase their skills and develop their game.“I think it (ISL) can help Indian football a lot. The foreigners can help and together we can make this league better. In my opinion, the next game will be much better and over the course of the next few months and years, football in India will grow,” he stated.
