FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez underlined the main reason why Mohun Bagan Super Giant won the League Shield as his team went down 0-2 to the Mariners in Kolkata on Saturday.

An own goal from Boris Singh and a late strike from Greg Stewart game Jose Molina’s team their 17th win of the season as the league’s top two teams battled it out in their final league match of the campaign.

The Spaniard felt a small mistake for the first goal cost his team the game which was fairly an even contest.

“The goal was a result of miscommunication between the goalkeeper and Boris Singh. The 2-0 result was too harsh as I felt the game was even but in my opinion Mohun Bagan Super Giant deserved to win the game,” he said during the post-match press conference.

On being asked what separated the Mariners from his team, Marquez said, “There were certain games in the ISL when the opponent was playing better football, Mohun Bagan Super Giant scored their first chance and won 3-0.”

“They have won games 3-2, 1-0 in the dying minutes. This is not a coincidence. They are the best team with the best players and the best coach. You can't discount the experience that Jose Molina has because he was a top player. He is the perfect person to be the coach of a team like Mohun Bagan Super Giant,” he added.

Looking ahead to the playoffs, Marquez felt the international break will allow teams to reset ahead of the knockout stage.

“There are approximately three weeks between the end of the league season and the playoffs. These three weeks will be very important for all the teams,” he said.

“I feel the teams that win the playoff round will arrive in the semi-finals in a better condition than Mohun Bagan Super Giant or FC Goa because these two teams will be out of competition for almost one month. But we will try to work in the best possible and be in the best condition for the semi-final,” he signed off by saying.

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Mohun Bagan Super GiantFC Goa2024-2025