Mumbai City lost game in first half, admits Des Buckingham

The Islanders are currently at second place on the points table.

Mumbai City FC lost 0-3 to Bengaluru FC at the Fatorda Stadium, on Monday. All three goals came in the first half. Danish Farooq gave the Blues the lead in the 8th minute. Prince Ibarra scored a brace in the 23rd and the 50th minute to seal the victory for Bengaluru in the first half itself. The second 45 saw Des Buckingham and Co. trying their level best, but the Blues turned out to be a hard nut to crack. With this loss, the Islanders retain their second position on the points table.

Here’s what Buckingham had to say in the post-match press conference.

Never in the game?

Mumbai City were literally outplayed by their opposition. When asked if his team were never in the game from the beginning, the tactician asserted, “No. I think we started the first 10 minutes very well. Then, after they scored the goal, we didn’t react the way we should have.

"The first half got away from us. The third goal just before half-time knocked the stuffing out of us a little bit. The boys were happy with the second half. But, the first half got away from us and that’s where the game is lost.”

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Areas of concern

Mumbai have secured just two points in their last five outings. Des Buckingham focused on the areas of concern, as he said, “We aren’t getting too carried away with where we are right now. Same way, we didn’t when we won five out of six. It’s the same group of players.

"We are very capable of playing that style of football and we showed good patches of that in the second half. It’s just making sure that we prepare as well as we can now for Kerala because that would be another good game for us to get back on track.”

Time to come out with positive way forward?

Although the Islanders made a good start to the campaign, the last five games haven’t been the best for them. Is it time for Buckingham’s side to keep those results aside and come with a positive way forward?

To this, the 36-year-old replied, “I think we’ll take the consideration of all 11 games that we have played. We’ll look at what we have done well. We’ll try to address the areas we need to do well in the next nine games because every game that we have got coming up is very important to us. It is important that we react in the positive way.”

Team Selection

A few players were benched for the clash against Bengaluru FC. The likes of Ygor Catatau, Mohamad Rakip got a chance to display their prowess. However, the coach had to bring in mends at the beginning of the second half to turn the tables. When asked about the team selection, Des Buckingham stated, “I think if we had more than two days between games, we’ll be able to field the same XI if we wanted to. But, we have to do two things – firstly, look after the players that are playing these games two days ago, address their wellness and make sure they are as fresh as they can be for the game. That’s why we try to rotate those players."

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"Secondly, to give players within out environment an opportunity to show what they can do from the start because they have been coming on and they deserve the opportunity to start and maybe inject some freshness from the start. But it wasn’t to be. We made the changes at half time and I felt we were far better balanced in the second half," he further added.

Revenge against Kerala Blasters in next game?

Kerala Blasters started their good run after defeating the Islanders a few days back. Currently Ivan Vukomanovic’s side are sitting on the top of the table. When quizzed if Buckingham considered this match as an opportunity to get their revenge, he quipped, “It’s a good opportunity for us to get back on track. We have got some time before that game to get the players back on the field and make sure we approach that game in the way that we want. We are very much looking forward to it.”

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