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FC Goa fell 3-1 to Kerala on Sunday night in Kochi after the hosts blitzed seven minutes either side of the first half to help themselves to a hat-trick of goals. However, even with a mountain of 3 goals to climb in front of a raucous partisan crowd, Gaurs refused to give up and if it hadn’t been for some brilliant goalkeepers combining with sloppy touches in the final third, Carlos Pena’s men could have kept playing. out of it.
Speaking to FC Goa after the defeat, the Spaniard felt this would be a learning experience while praising his troops for their fighting spirit.
“The team didn’t give up even after going into the half 2-0, which hurt us a lot. Even at 3-0 we believed,” Pena said. “We came back strong but it wasn’t enough. But there was no doubt that the players played until the final whistle and I am happy to see the position of the team.
“Now is the time to learn from the game and analyze what happened. I am sure we will learn a lot from this.”
Problems and solutions
Pena shed more light on what he believes are the biggest issues with performance and how they sought to solve them within the game.
“In the first half, they gave us a lot of chances to hit us in the transition. We knew they were a team that could hurt us in the transition. We couldn’t counter-press properly. We couldn’t press them high enough on the pitch,” added FC Gua coach. “.
“In the second half we played better as we widened the field with our wings – with Redeem and Noah playing on the sides. That helped create chances for us.
“That’s why we removed Brandon (Fernandez). We felt we needed more players who work in wide areas. Iker and Brandon could not have worked better as a pair in midfield.”
Injury woes in defense
Goa’s defense line has seen a lot of division and change in the last two matches, with injuries proving to be a real headache for Pena. Last week saw Fares Arnaout start his first match in the colors of FC Goa against Jamshedpur after Marc Valiente was sidelined due to injury. Although the Syrian international’s time on the pitch was cut short in his debut due to an injury on his part.
It took the intervention of Glan Martins to get Pena’s concerns out last week. However, the India international was not available for this match due to the injury he picked up in the latter match – giving Savior Gama his first start at Campagn. Gama only lasted 20 minutes before Sanson Pereira took his place on the field.
Briefing on the concerns, Pena said, “Our foreign players (in defence) weren’t available, so they couldn’t start any of them. Regarding Gamma, we are awaiting test results to assess his situation further.”
Pena is hoping to overcome his back injury fears as all roads now lead to FC Goa as they are set to host high-flying ATK Mohun Bagan on what promises to be another Blockbuster Sunday in Fatorda.
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