We knew coming here would be difficult: Mumbai City FC's Petr Kratky
The Islanders secured a convincing win over Hyderabad FC to extend their lead at the top by five points.
Mumbai City FC head coach Petr Kratky was happy with the performance of his players as they breezed past Hyderabad FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the G.M.C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium in Hyderabad on Monday.
The hosts started strong, creating chances right from the kickoff, but it was the away team who found the net first, with Lallianzuala Chhangte bagging the opener for Mumbai City FC in the 18th minute of the match, finishing a brilliant counterattack. With this goal, the momentum shifted towards the Islanders, building them up for their second goal.
Thirty-one minutes into the game, Mehtab Singh headed home a Thaer Krouma cross, leading his team into the second half with a two-goal advantage. A last-minute penalty from Jorge Pereyra Diaz saw Mumbai City FC end the match with a 3-0 scoreline.
FT: HFC 0⃣-3⃣ MCFC
— Mumbai City FC (@MumbaiCityFC) April 1, 2024
3️⃣ Goals, 3️⃣ Points and a clean-sheet to top it off in Gachibowli! 🩵💥#HFCMCFC #AamchiCity 🔵 pic.twitter.com/Lfp1q6VE1Z
Analyzing the match, the head coach felt that it was indeed a difficult game and gave due credit to their luck for not having conceded an early goal.
“We knew coming here would be very difficult, especially after the restart, these games are always difficult. So we knew that. And we were right. It wasn’t an easy game for us, we could’ve conceded a very early goal. We were lucky we didn't. And then slowly we got into the game. But we need to improve a bit more before heading into the final two games,” stated Kratky in the post-match press conference.
Jorge Pereyra Diaz was one of the most impactful players for the Islanders against Hyderabad FC. He created four goal-scoring chances for his team and bagged his seventh goal of the season from the spot.
Kratky expressed delight in having his star forward back with the team after he missed a few matches due to illness.
“Very happy for him (Jorge Pereyra Diaz). He's a very important part of the team. So we missed him before (when he was out with sickness), now he's back. He scored a goal. So fantastic,” he shared.
Appreciating the rest of his frontline, the Czech Australian added, “And we know Bipin Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Vikram Partap Singh, they are top wingers. As for me, I've got a headache about which one I can start because all of them are doing a very, very good job. So I have to just manage the game time and manage their expectations.”
The 42-year-old is relieved that he did his homework before taking on Thangboi Singto’s men and gives due credit to Singto for how his team fought.
Kratky shared, “We were expecting Hyderabad FC would press us but we did our homework. We tried some things about it. We needed to be a little bit quicker, a little bit better in that. But, again that's the tactical awareness and credit again to the coach (Singto) as well, you know.”
Mumbai City FC will play their next match against third-placed Odisha FC at home on April 8.
Kratky admits that the Kalinga Warriors being one of the biggest teams in the league right now will serve as motivation for his players.
“We play Odisha FC (next). So one of the benefits of playing these big clubs is the self-motivation. So I'm not expecting anything else than hard work and that they will be motivated to go. We play at home in front of the fans. So we will be excited to play that game and we will go for it, and we will put maximum effort in it and we'll see (what happens),” he said.
