FC Goa got back to winning ways in Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 after registering a 4-3 win against Bengaluru FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Thursday. Ferran Corominas netted a hat-trick for the Gaurs, while his fellow Spaniard Manuel Lanzarote also got his name on the score-sheet. Bengaluru, who were reduced to 10 men in the first half put on a spirited display to level the score at 3-3 but in the end Goa managed to get the better of the Blues in front of their home crowd.

Speaking to the media at the post-match press conference, Goa head coach Sergio Lobera said he was content with his side’s overall display. “I am very happy to have played at home. Obviously, it is very exciting to play in front of home fans. We gave it our all in the first half. I think we were superior, and we scored a few goals. What we have to do now, is learn from what we did well and also recognise our mistakes, and ensure we don’t repeat it again. Very happy to have played in front of the home fans for the first time, and very content overall,” he said.

Despite the win, Lobera admitted there’s still a lot of scope for improvement. “I’m very happy with the three points, especially against a team that I highlighted in my previous press conference as being very strong. But this is not the end of it, we need to learn from our mistakes. We can’t cloud our judgement in terms of what we are trying to achieve this season. These three points are just part of the journey that we are going to go further into. We need to improve a lot in what we are doing, particularly because we allowed a team down to 10 men to come back from a two-goal deficit. So, we need to understand exactly what we need to do to improve, and prove that on the field,” the 40-year-old said.

Bengaluru’s 10 men forced their way back into the contest with two quick second half strikes that squared things up. It wasn’t the first time Goa had allowed their opponents back into the game and Lobera later admitted that his entire team and not just their backline must take the responsibility for their defensive deficiencies.

“It happened with us in Chennai as well, when we had a little bit of daylight in the score, but again, we let them come back into the game. This is something that I won’t particularly blame on the defence. Even then, we went into half-time with a lead but allowed them to come back with two goals. Here as well again, we let Bengaluru come back into the game. So, I am not going to blame this on the defence, it’s the entire team that has to look at this, and this is something we really need to work on.”

The Spanish coach also praised Corominas’ performance after the striker scored the first hat-trick of Hero ISL 2017-18. “We all know Coro is a good player. I think today was a fine example of what a fine player and goal-scorer he is. But I don’t tend to talk about individual performances, because even when we lose, I don’t like to talk about individual mistakes. So, while I will say that Coro is a great player, I will not particularly highlight him and say that he was the one who turned things around. We win and lose as a team, and we are going to highlight everyone in the team,” Lobera said.