Juan Ferrando laments referring decisions in semi-final stalemate

The Spaniard also revealed that five FC Goa players on the pitch on Friday night were not fully match fit.

The playoffs of the Indian Super League 2020/21 season are well underway. The first game saw FC Goa and Mumbai City FC play out an entertaining 2-2 draw as two current and two former Gaurs' players found the nets in the evening. Following the game, FC Goa head coach Juan Ferrando expressed his views on the fixture, the second-leg, team’s performance and more.

FC Goa took the lead early through Igor Angulo’s penalty but Hugo Boumos levelled the game by scoring for the Islanders on the 39th minute. Saviour Gama handed the lead back to the Gaurs before Mourtada Fall helped MCFC claw their way back again into the fixture. 

Refereeing decisions

The Spaniard seemed rather unhappy with the officials and expressed his concerns in regards to some of the key decisions going against his team. “We had many clear chances but at the end, some strange decisions (from) the referees is just very difficult. We can play against Mumbai, against 14 players,” he expressed.

Defensive performance

Despite taking the lead twice, FC Goa’s defence could not hold on to the advantage for long. Speaking in the context of whether the defence could have done a good job, Juan Ferrando quipped, “The defence sometimes was good, but in transitions, made some simple mistakes. At this moment, (due to injuries) we have some problems.”

“Six players on the pitch were 100% fit, the rest of the players were with big problems. It is very difficult to play football in these conditions.” 

Injuries to key players

FC Goa were dealt two huge blows during the game when Seriton Fernandes and Princeton Rebellos picked up injuries. Speaking on the extent of their knocks, the Spaniard revealed, “It's the end of the season, It's not a football tackle (on Rebello), It's a taekwondo (tackle)."

"I’m very happy about how Leander (D’Cunha) has worked all this season, he was out of the squad all the time. Today, the opportunity came in the semi-final. I believe in Leander and I am very happy for his first minutes in the ISL,” the tactician added.

Selection headaches

Juan Ferrando was quizzed if he was tempted to involve Ishan Pandita earlier in the game, considering his recent performances.

“It was not possible because there are a lot of players with problems on the pitch. If you have all the players on the pitch, normally you can use Ishan if you want to change the game plan. But, today I was waiting on six-seven players because I don’t know if they are ready for 90 minutes,” he concluded.

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