We perfectly executed what we needed to do today - Lobera

The Gaurs registered their first clean sheet of the tournament on Sunday.

FC Goawere at their rampant best when they routed FC Pune City 4 – 0 at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium in Pune on Sunday. A brace from Ferran Corominas and a goal apiece for Manuel Lanzarote and Hugo Boumous meant that the Gaurs managed to keep their hopes of entering the playoffs very much alive. This was also Goa’s first clean sheet of Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18.

In the post-match press conference, while addressing the media, their head coach Sergio Lobera underlined the importance of the win and also their mindset going forward. “I think we broke our negative dynamic,” he remarked. “It was very important for us and to do that in the manner which we did, in a stadium like this, against a team like Pune, completely changed our dynamic. But this is only the first step. We need continuity. For me, this game does not exist anymore. Now I have to think about the next game against ATK.”

The 41-year-old also mentioned the style of play that made them achieve such a result. “I think the most important thing was to return to our football,” he stated. “We had the ball, we had control of the game, we were capable of generating chances and we were capable of dominating the game against a team who have so far done well this season. I think tactically, we perfectly executed what we needed to do today.”

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The Spaniard then went on to praise his players for their demonstration on the pitch. “I have to congratulate the players and I am very proud of them,” Lobera said. “They demonstrated personality. They demonstrated that they believe in themselves and they were capable enough of turning around the negative dynamic which we were passing through.”

The Gaurs kept their first clean sheet of the season, but Lobera admitted that he was more pleased with the fact that his team had scored four times. “I am happier today that we scored four goals than the fact that we kept a clean sheet,” he revealed. “For me, maintaining a clean sheet is just an anecdote. The important thing is our offensive approach.”

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Meanwhile, Pune’s head coach Ranko Popovic shared his disappointment on being at the wrong end of such a result. “Our performance was very disappointing,” he remarked. “We apologize to our supporters who had come to see us because this was completely opposite of what we have been doing all season. We did not play like a team and I congratulate Goa for the win.”

Pune did not have the services of their Uruguayan striker Emiliano Alfaro, regarding which the Serbian said, “It is important to have Alfaro. He is a different kind of player. But even then, we did not play as a team today and this is a fact.”