Juan Ferrando stresses on need to keep calm following East Bengal win

This was the Gaurs' first win of the ISL 2021-22 season.

FC Goa faced SC East Bengal in their fourth fixture of the Indian Super League. The match ended 4-3 in favour of the Gaurs, providing them their first win of the season. The nail-biting encounter started showing its glimpses in the initial stages itself, after Alberto Noguera scored a brilliant long-ranger. In the 26th minute, Antonio Perosevic restored parity for the Kolkata giants.

In the 32nd minute, FC Goa were awarded a penalty. Seriton Fernandes was brought down in the box after being fouled by Sourav Das. Jorge Ortiz didn’t fail to capitalize and netted the ball home after sending the keeper the wrong way.

The lead however didn’t last long as in the 37th minute, Amir Dervisevic sent the ball directly into the net from a free-kick. Before heading back to the dressing room, FC Goa again took the lead after Devendra Murgaonkar’s header was sent into his own net by Perosevic.

The Croatian however, brought the Red and Gold back into the game in the 59th minute, courtesy a mistake in midfield from Glan Martins.

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The match could have gone either way, as both teams piled on the pressure. However, it was Alberto Noguera again, who scored the winner in the 79th minute. A beautiful cross by Jorge Ortiz from the right wing was netted calmly by the Spaniard.

FC Goa head coach Juan Ferrando addressed the media after the match. Here’s what he had to say:

Boost for the team

https://youtu.be/Yqjt1691Upw

Goa finally secured their first win of the campaign. This win though by a narrow margin, will definitely act as a boost for the team.

The coach began, “For me, I am happy for our fans, the players and the coaching staff because they are working so hard. After losing three games it was difficult. But, I am happy for them. In my mind exists the last three games and this is the time to improve primarily about the last three games.”

No reaction to goals

It isn’t something usual on the pitch, but Juan Ferrando was not seen celebrating the goals by his team. When asked about it, the tactician replied, “This was because in this case, I was talking to my assistant Clifford (Miranda) about where is the best moment to give more confidence for the team or maybe do substitutions so that the team is not stressed because sometimes when the team is in not good situation and score is 1-0 or 2-1, there is stress among the players.”

He added, “It’s very important for us to keep calm and to connect with the players like no stress. The game is 90 minutes and it’s very important to put attention in these moment.”

Change in tactics

FC Goa shifted from their traditional 4-2-3-1 to a three-man backline tonight. The change however, came as a surprise to many. The tactician asserted, “The tactics was because we had some problems in build-up in the last games and in transitions, we decided to help one player more in build-up.

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"For us its better because its our style. Okay, sometimes we have success, but we need to improve sometimes during the games. But, at the end, today’s game was 90% psychological (laughs); about the mentality, be positive, feedback all the time from the pitch to the bench and vice-versa, trust in our plan and the team, this is the most important. The tactics is secondary.”

On Muhammed Nemil

Muhammed Nemil showed his class in the Durand Cup. After returning from an injury, he has already got a few minutes under his belt. Here’s what Juan Ferrando had to comment about the youngster.

“We’ll see. I am not a magician (laughs). I don’t know the future of the players. But, for me in FC Goa, the most important is of course to win the games, try to improve these players and step-by-step when the team is confident, when the players have good feelings on the pitch.

“Normally its very easy to help Nemil. Last season we helped Devendra and now he is in the lineup. I think it’s very important to control the atmosphere, to control the pitch, the rest of the players and step-by-step, in case of Nemil to make sure he has more playing time day-by-day,” the coach signed off.

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