Mumbai City FC crashed to their sixth defeat of Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 and their third consecutive loss at home when Jamshedpur FC edged them 2 – 1 at the Mumbai Football Arena on Thursday. The Islanders were on the backfoot as a result of Sanju Pradhan’s first-half own goal but hit back through Everton Santos’ equaliser in the second period. However, Bikash Jairu struck six minutes from time to bag all three points for the league debutants.

The loss severely dents Mumbai’s hopes of making the playoffs, and addressing the media post the Islanders’ setback was their head coach Alexandre Guimaraes. The Costa Rican shared his disappointment after the frustrating defeat. “Sometimes football does not give you the reward that you work for,” he inferred. “We played very well, but we did not convert the possibilities that we had. And when that happens, sometimes just one situation can put you in trouble. It’s what happened today.”

Guimaraes went on to explain, “We had a very good first half, but they profited from one of our mistakes. Then in the second half we had to take our risks which gave us opportunities. We were going to get a draw, and in that situation, we were going for the win. However, they had another situation which they profited from. My players did what I asked them to do. They found ways to penetrate Jamshedpur’s tough defence, but sometimes you have chances and don’t make (the most of) it.”

Striker Balwant Singh was guilty of missing some good opportunities, but Guimaraes defended his team’s leading marksmen’s display. “He is our top scorer,” stated the 58-year-old. “But sometimes players have these nights. But I am sure in the next game he will fight and get over this situation.”

When asked about the troubling home form of the Islanders, Guimaraes replied, “This is not the situation we had in mind. From these three home games, we played two of them the way we should play. But unfortunately, we did not get the points from the games. So, sometimes football is like that.”

However, he wasn’t prepared to write off his side’s chances of still making the playoffs yet. “I just told the players in the dressing room that we still have our chances; we still have the possibility to be in the top-four,” Guimaraes remarked. “It is more difficult now, but anything can happen. In ISL 2, there was one team (Chennaiyin FC) that won five-six games in a row at the end and went on to become champions. So, we have to win all our games. So, tomorrow we will start to work hard on our next game against Pune.”