De Deus wants 'bad phase' to pass, Guimaraes praises 'growing' Ruidas

The hosts have lost four on the bounce while the Islanders returned to winning ways.

After four defeats in a row, a sorry looking NorthEast United FC coach Joao Carlos Pires de Deus confronted the media in the post-match press conference. Speaking about the result, the boss felt they were hard done by with the missed chances and is still optimistic about what the future holds.

"I am frustrated [with our recent run of form]. We create so many chances, more than our opponents. We are not making them count compared to the many mistakes. What costs me more is to see my boys do everything, they came to get a different result. Its a bad phase for us but we must keep our patience and let these moments pass. Because this is football and you have to accept whatever comes your way. We look forward to the future with a better perspective."

On being asked if he would come up with any new strategy for the future games, De Deus said, "Yes, we are all disappointed with the result. You know where it all went wrong. Maybe it is something to do with our strategy or maybe not. We will keep our heads high and work harder. We must better our position on the table.

He left the hall after providing a post-match fitness update on his substituted players. "No, Martin Diaz had no injury concern. We decided to take him off and put an extra attacking option to change the result. But Nirmal and Halicharan had some issues [so they were subbed]. Nirmal pulled his hamstring, though nothing serious about that.

Narzary is already battling some injury problems since two weeks. He put in a great effort today. We planned to take him off at the interval but he wanted to go out again and help the boys to change the situation. But we had to substitute him towards the latter part of the second half."

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Pragmatic Guimaraes making most of meagre Mumbai resources 

Mumbai City FC boss Alexandre Guimaraes was delighted to fly back home with all the three points from a not-so-easy venue amidst the passionate home fans in Guwahati.

"I am very satisfied with the result. In this game, we had quality playing time than any of our previous games. We punched them in the right moments. The first goal, we recognized the situation to put the ball where it needs to go. The second one, because our players felt that the opposition full-backs crumbled when we press a little bit. So, we took full advantage of both the situations. It's not easy to win here but we managed to win against a team which had a very solid defence. The win, too, helps climb up the table.

The Costa Rican tactician also praised the talented Indian resources at his disposal. "They played very well. We managed to rotate Davinder with Wadoo. And Sanju, we wanted to give him a start, to give chances to these young players. Also Ruidas, with every game he is performing much much better defensively. He is growing in confidence to go more in front as well. It is good for us."

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Guimaraes also praised the Hero of the Match Gerson Viera, who played a very crucial role in the defensive midfield.

"We had an idea. Due to the absence of Sehnaj, he [Gerson] knew he had to cover more area. He covered the two centre backs and also Emana quite well. So I am very glad that he is playing with us, because is not easy to find players like this."