Pleased with the start, says Des Buckingham after win over FC Goa

The Islanders punished the Gaurs in their opening match of ISL 2021-22.

Mumbai City FC started off their Indian Super League (ISL) title defence in elegant fashion, as they beat FC Goa in their opening fixture. Debutant Igor Angulo scored a brace, while Ygor Cattatau finished off the scoring for the Islanders. Goa failed to encroach on Mumbai’s goal as Mohammad Nawaz kept a clean-sheet on his debut. MCFC head coach Des Buckingham was delighted with his side’s performance. He reaffirmed that the defending champions will continue building on their progress from last season.

Igor Angulo got the ball rolling for Mumbai City in the 33rd minute after Ivan Gonzalez brought the Spaniard down inside the box and he converted the penalty with a net-rippling shot. Mumbai City had an earlier call for a spot-kick denied when Vignesh Dakshinamurthy’s mazy, surging run from midfield left all FC Goa defenders in the dust. Leander D’Cunha made a rash last- ditch attempt but missed the ball completely. 

Mumbai City capitalized once again within three minutes. Raynier Fernandes spun away from his markers brilliantly and supplied Angulo in with a perfectly weighted pass. The Spaniard displayed another aspect of his goalscoring prowess, as he expertly controlled the ball with one touch and poked it into the near post with a calm second. FC Goa’s first half performance was summed up by their haphazard defending and rigidity in the build-up. They committed multiple fouls and Alexander Romario Jesuraj picked up a yellow card.

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Ygor Catatau, an ISL debutant, piled on more misery onto FC Goa as he scored with a cushioned header. The fact that it was his first touch, only two minutes after coming on in the 74th  minute, speaks volumes on how good an addition he is to the roster. The Gaurs tried to get on the scoresheet after this with a few efforts but to no avail. The best of those efforts was tipped over the goal by Mohammad Nawaz.  

Winning first game sets marker

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The young English coach was content with the team and commended their performance. He stressed on how it is necessary to build on last season’s progress. 

“It's always enjoyable to get a win, especially in your first game. (It) always sets a marker for what the club and team achieved last year. I say it’s a good start for us. It was important to start off well. It was really pleasing to see in parts of the game, (us) playing the football we want to play. Pleased with the start,” replied Des Buckingham at the post-match press conference.  

Debutants’ performance

All of Mumbai City’s goals came from debutants. Igor Angulo scored a brace on his Mumbai City debut. Ygor Cattatau took the achievements a step further with his maiden goal within two minutes of his introduction. Other newcomers Mohammad Nawaz, Cassinho and Rahul Bheke all shone brilliantly, as the Islanders finished top of the pile comfortably. 

“Very happy with the performances. Not just of those two (Angulo and Cassinho), but we had some changes to make due to injuries tonight. The players that came on had a huge impact. Rakip coming in at left-back and the substitutions that we made in the second half came on and injected some life that we needed,” explained the coach.

On winning managerial debut in ISL

Despite there being additional scrutiny on his appointment, Des Buckingham made a statement with his managerial debut win.

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Buckingham was bubbling with excitement as he justified, “I was really excited to be in  and to continue building on the excellent work that Sergio Lobera had done last year. I’m hopeful that we have built on that and added to the game.” 

On approach for next games

Mohammad Rakip replaced Vignesh Dakshinamurthy in the first half. The latter felt a niggle in his ankle after a foul inside the box by Leander and was unable to go on for the rest of the match.

Talking about the same, Buckingham noted, “We’ll have to see how the players fare and we’ll give them the required amount of rest and recovery for the next games. We’ll see how it works out.”

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