FC Goa head coach Derrick Pereira was pleased with his team’s performance despite them letting a two-goal lead slip in the dying minutes of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) match against Kerala Blasters FC that finished as a 4-4 draw at the Athletic stadium in Bambolim, Goa.

FC Goa did well to bounce back from a 0-2 half-time scoreline to lead 4-2 in the second half but conceded two late goals to drop two points.

Match Report: FC Goa, Kerala Blasters FC play out a thrilling draw in a see-saw battle

Pereira though was pleased with the team’s second half show and felt it was almost the perfect half barring the two late goals.

He spoke to the media after the match. Here are the excerpts from his press conference:

Could you have predicted eight goals in this game?

No, not at all. I wanted to end on a good note. I think in the first half we started well but we gave away soft goals as usual. I felt this being the last match of the season some of the players were not ready for this match. In the second half, they went in and put good efforts, dominated the match, created some very good chances and scored some very good goals. I'm happy with the performance.

Do you think the second half is one of the best halves of football the team has played under you?

We have performed well in a lot of matches except for a couple of games where we didn't do well. Otherwise, we were consistent performers just that we didn't get good results. If we had got the three points, I would have said that the second half was the best.

You took charge in a difficult moment, what are a few things that will leave a positive impact for the future of the club?

The team spirit. I think we built a good team unit because there were issues because we didn't have a good start. There were issues related to Covid-19. I think we were strong to get to the end and perform. But somehow results didn't come. I think the youngsters did well whoever got the opportunity to play. They knew their roles and they took their responsibility.

What does your future at the club look like?

I am the technical director of the club. We will sit together and analyse this season and we will look at the future.