FC Goa head coach Zico apologised to fans following his side 2-1 home defeat by Kerala Blasters FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Monday evening. The Gaurs scored first through Julio Cesar in the 24th minute and put over 18,000 home fans into a frenzy. However, the Gaurs fans ended up laughing on the other side of their faces at the end of the match as Kerala Blasters registered a brilliant comeback win thanks to goals from Mohammed Rafi and Kervens Belfort. Speaking to the media after the match, Zico couldn't hide his disappointment.“I want to apologies to all the fans, we couldn't deliver the best result but we still have quite a few matches ahead of us, if we can win at least two matches quickly our situation will improve. I don't want to make comparisons between this team and last year's team. There is a lot of difference. We had problems building this team since the beginning, so there should not be comparisons with last year's team,” the Brazilian said.When asked where things went wrong for the Gaurs, the 63-year-old said: “We knew we were going to face a very hard team that would press us a lot, we had a game just three days ago, they knew it and we were expecting a tough game. We had a good performance in the first half and had one-goal advantage in the second half but unfortunately they scored right after the kick-off in the first minute. We expected them to come with a different strategy but after the goal they changed their strategy. I consider this an equal game with few opportunities, they had opportunities with luck and they scored and won the match.”Kerala are known for their defensive play but on Monday evening they came with attacking football. Zico said he wasn't surprised with the way the visitors played. “I was not surprised because they had a lot of rest-days, I knew they would press us, it was the game we were expecting so this was not the reason we lost the game.”It was Goa's fourth defeat in six matches. When asked how he was planning to breathe life into their ever-dwindling campaign, Zico said: “It is not time to plan anything now, we have to check how the players are reacting, and we have to prepare and play well in the next game to win and take our tally to seven points and start the second phase with seven points.”Zico also provided a fitness update on Rafael Coelho. “Rafael still has a problem with his eye, he has not been practising with us, and so I decided to keep him on the bench. I did not want to risk him since it may harm him further. I need him 100% for the rest of the league,” he said.
