Kibu Vicuna admits FC Goa were the better team after disappointing defeat

The Kerala Blasters boss also revealed that he thought Costa Nhamoinesu's red card disturbed his side's momentum.

A hotly-contested affair at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Sunday night, came to an end with FC Goa clinching their first Indian Super League win in this season by beating Kerala Blasters. While it was a joyous occasion for the Gaurs’ fans, the Yellow Army continues to remain winless after four games – and head coach Kibu Vicuna admitted that his team’s results so far are a matter of concern.

“As head coach, the biggest area of concern is the result,” he began. “I would say that we are in a process, and we have been affected by things like Sergio [Cidoncha]’s injury. That affected the team not only in terms of performance but also the morale of various players,” he added. 

The Spaniard also made it clear that the team is not ready to give up. “We have to keep going. We have different matches in the coming weeks, and we are confident that we are going to play well,” he said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrizFZGtvUY

Speaking about FC Goa, the 48-year-old pointed out that they converted their chances and had better attacking players.

“Overall, FC Goa were the better team today. Both teams created good chances, but I think we were weaker defensively and allowed them to score,” Kibu Vicuna said. 

“FC Goa also succeeded in converting their chances, and had better players upfront. Generally, there was a good fight for the ball. Within the match also, you could see several individual games being played between various players,” he explained. 

Kibu Vicuna mentioned that the sending-off of his captain Costa Nhamoinesu in the first minute of injury time upset their rhythm in the final moments.

“The red card [for Costa] actually disturbed our momentum. Once the scoreline became 1-2, we had five minutes to maybe try and score the equalizer but soon afterwards, the red card meant that we would be playing those five minutes with one player less. That affected us and soon after, we allowed them to score that third goal,” the Spaniard opined. 

“I don’t think we were uncomfortable while playing from the back,” he replied, when asked about whether he made a mistake in setting his team up to play from behind. “They [FC Goa] pressed well, and we made mistakes – that’s what happened. I think we also pressed well in both matches [including the previous game against Chennaiyin FC]”he added.

According to Kibu Vicuna, another key area in which the Yellow Army was progressing slowly is in the creation of chances.

“I don’t think the team can be blamed for creating only a few chances so far. It is true that we have been enjoying more ball possession [compared to their opponents]. That is the first step to creating more chances and I think this game was where we created the most chances so far this season,” he explained. 

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He also revealed that star midfielder Sahal Abdul Samad suffered an injury a day earlier, forcing him to omit the 23-year-old from his matchday squad. “Sahal is a good footballer and obviously an important member of our squad. Unfortunately, he suffered a small injury yesterday and that is the reason why he could not play today.”

“We are waiting for an update on his situation because he is a very important player for us.”

The Kerala Blasters head coach was asked whether the loss will force the club to speed up their process of signing Cidoncha’s replacement, to which Kibu Vicuna answered, “The plan of the team stays the same as yesterday. Our plan is to rotate our available players for the time being.” 

With the win, FC Goa climbed to fourth place on the league standings with six points from four matches. Kerala Blasters, meanwhile, continue to hold the ninth spot with only two points.

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