FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez expressed delight as they secured a convincing 3-0 win over Chennaiyin FC in Matchweek 6 of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 season at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in Chennai, on Sunday.

The Gaurs maintain their unbeaten streak after playing five matches thus far, securing four wins and a draw in the process. They move to the top of the table with a clinical performance against the Marina Machans on the night. Boris Singh Thangjam opened the scoring in the 13th minute of the match by scoring in his first start of this season. Rowllin Borges found the back of the net 24 minutes into the game, giving his team a comfortable lead at halftime. In the 72nd minute, Udanta Singh sealed the three points with a third goal for the night.

Analyzing the result of the match, the Spanish tactician feels that they put forth their best performance of this season against Chennaiyin FC and they deserved the three points.

“I think that we played a good game. Maybe our best game in this ISL. You never know if the score is fair or not 3-0, 2-0, 3-1, but I think that we deserve to win the game. And I think that we play a good game. It’s true that when we were winning 2-0, there were some moments in the second half where Chennaiyin FC pushed a lot. But finally, when we scored the third goal, I think that the game was over,” stated Marquez at the post-match press conference.

There have been instances this season when a team has lost despite taking a two-goal lead early in the game. Thus, Marquez is pleased that his team remained composed and didn't yield to such pressure.

“There is an unwritten rule in football that when you are winning 2-0 at half-time and, in the first minutes of the second half, the team that is losing scores a goal, it seems like they are winning (the game),” he said.

“With 1-0, you have to be very focused because you know that the game is not over, but with 2-0, maybe if there is some relaxation, and the opponent scores, you can have problems. I think it's true that they pushed and had some chances.," Marquez added.

The Gaurs have demonstrated their strength prominently in the league up to this point. The 55-year-old coach believes that his team has been quite competitive thus far, but there’s still room for improvement in the upcoming matches because the league is long they need to remain focused.

I think that we can improve, but obviously, during 22 games, there will be good games, normal games, and bad games. The only thing is that in all games, we have to be very competitive. Till now, I think that we have been very competitive, even in games that we didn't play very well,” he shared.

Related tags:

FC Goa2023-2024