Des Buckingham slams referee for 'three clear-cut' penalties denied

The Englishman also reflected on Phurba Lachenpa's first start for the Islanders.

After having been winless in the last four games including tonight's goalless draw against SC East Bengal, Des Buckingham will be facing a lot of flak from the fans. Although his side did ask the right questions, a plethora of missed chances meant that Mumbai City FC came away with only a point in the ISL.

In the post-match press conference, the tactician reflected on the game and was vocal about the reasons his team did not come away with more points.

Penalties denied & missed chances.

Des Buckingham sounded disappointed as he spelt out the reason for the draw, saying,”Well done to East Bengal, but also we've had three clear-cut penalties denied, that were not  given. For me, that's the reason we haven't come away with a result tonight. 

“We're happy with the clean-sheet, but I don't think they've had a chance on our goal. We trust the process we follow, but we need to also make sure that when we create chances, we (usually) trust the officials to give at least one if not all three.”

Phurba Lachenpa's performance

The coach then went on to assess the performance of his goalkeeper Phurba Lachenpa, who started his first game for the club, “ He didn't have much to do. It's a good starting debut for him, pleased for him. But, he hasn't really had anything to do in the game. 

“I felt we had control of the game and we created enough opportunities to win the game, both in open play and from the decisions that I've just spoken about. So, I'm happy with Phurba and we'll see what happens for the next game.”

On returning to winning ways

On being asked, what had to be done to return to winning ways, which the club desperately needs to get back to, Des replied and concluded, “We need to keep creating chances the way we are. I think defensively we were very sound tonight and that's obviously been an area of concern in the last three games, which is nice to see.

"We've come away with a clean-sheet and then we just need to keep working on creating the chances that we are and whether or not it's open play, where we managed to find the net or if we take charge of the set-plays and decisions, just making sure that we take those opportunities.”

For more football updates, follow Khel Now on Twitter, Instagram and join our community on Telegram.