Punjab FC head coach Staikos Vergetis shared his satisfaction with his team’s overall performance after his side played out a 3-3 draw against FC Goa in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Monday.

The match in the capital was a highly intense encounter, marked by numerous goal-scoring opportunities that transformed it into a goal-filled spectacle. FC Goa took an early lead as Carl McHugh unleashed a quality left-footed strike from Borja Herrera's corner. Despite maintaining higher ball possession in the first half, the Guars couldn't capitalize on their chances to extend their lead.

In the second half, the Shers made an instant impact, with Wilmar Jordan Gil leveling the scores with his presence in the box. Vergetis's team managed to take the lead twice, courtesy of Luka Majcen's precise finish and Juan Mera's curling left-footed strike. However, the visitors managed to equalize through Noah Sadaoui's spot kick and Carlos Martinez's simple tap-in.

Vergetis acknowledged that his team didn’t the play football to get three points against FC Goa; rather, he believed that his team deserved a draw based on how they played throughout the match.

“I think that today we can say that we won one point more than we lost two,” Vergetis said in the post-match press conference.

"Because, if you will see the statistics of the game, we had 39% ball possession. We were losing the ball very easily, and we were defending more than we were attacking.. It means that our defensive function did not work well. In the individual marks, in one against one, in duels, and in the second balls, many things of the defensive function did not work properly to face one big opponent. That's why I say that mostly we won one point with a few attacks that we did,” he continued.

The Greek head coach highly valued his players’ performances, who showcased their capability in the transition of games, which helped them get three second-half goals.

Speaking in context, he stated, “The transition game is one characteristic in ISL, and we have to adapt and train this because this is the moment that we have faced many times in the games.”

“The games in the ISL have a lot of transitions, not only for our team but for many teams. They're not tactically set to play games so much, and we have to adapt to this and train this thing (transition of play),” he added.

Despite Punjab FC having lesser ball possession (38%) during the entire game, they managed to keep the score at level terms after the final whistle. Vergetis commended his players’ effort, who were precise in converting their chances to score three goals against a well-balanced FC Goa side, but he figured out that the fatigue of playing three matches in the last nine days cost his side points on their home turf.

“We succeeded in scoring three goals in the second half. It's a big achievement because FC Goa dominated many periods of the game. This is not an excuse, but in the few days that we had to prepare for this game, many players had a lot of tiredness. I preferred not to make many changes. So as not to lose the cohesion of the team. But it cost us a lot,” he explained.

“I believe that after the (international) break, which we need too much now, and the work that we will do, we will refresh the players and we will be better for the last three games,” he signed off.