Des Buckingham fumes over second half penalty denial after draw

Mumbai City head coach Des Buckingham expressed disappointment at being denied a spot-kick in the second-half of their match against Jamshedpur FC in the ISL at the Mumbai Football Arena (MFA) on Saturday.

The tactician revealed that the Indian Super League (ISL) has come up with a mandate to let the ball remain in play more this year. He acknowledged that such a decision might have cost them two points as he spoke elaborately in the aftermath’s 1-1 draw against Aidy Boothroyd’s men. Here are the excerpts from Buckingham’s post-match press conference.

Has the ISL come up with a new mandate regarding referees this year?

Lallianzuala Chhangte was brought down in what appeared to be a clear spot-kick in favour of Mumbai City FC in the 48th minute of the game. However, the referee looked the other way and ordered for the play to go on in a decision that certainly frustrated the Islanders’ head coach.

“I'm usually very calm on the sideline. I understand the game can be very difficult to manage, to referee, and I have always been very supportive about them. I know the mandate this year is to try and let the game flow in a little bit more, to have more ball-time and more ball-in-play. So the referees are letting a lot more go this season, which we have been made aware of. My frustration was around; I am okay with letting the game play a little bit more. But I think you still need to give fouls when they are fouls,” Des Buckingham opened up on the issue. 

Refereeing in the ISL

Buckingham added, “There is a difference between letting the game flow a little bit more and not giving the foul when they should. I think there were a couple of occasions outside the box when it (foul) certainly was. But then there was way for play on. The big turning point for me was in the second half. You do everything you can to score. I think it’s a clear penalty with his arms wrapped around our player. He has no reason to go down.”

He further explained, “I have seen the replay and I think nine times out of 10 if not 10 times out of 10, you would get that and that potentially puts us 2-1 up. So, you know, they have a difficult job but for me it was a big turning point in the game that maybe has cost us two more points.” 

Need for clarity on rules

However, Des Buckingham not only rued at the arguably poor refereeing call but also went into detail about a collective decision that the league has taken on this issue in this season.

“To give you some context on that, the league in comparison to other leagues, the ball-in-play time last year was only 50 per cent of the 90 minutes. So, 45 minutes out of 90. That’s a long time that the ball was out of play, which includes throw-ins, goal-kicks, free-kicks, game stoppages. So the mandate for the league was to make sure that the ball stays in play a little bit more. That’s to make sure that the throw-in, goal-kicks sped up a little bit, to make sure that the ball plays a little bit faster,” the 37-year-old elaborated.

He additionally explained, “Then it was to allow a bit more contact at times you know. Rather than soft fouls, maybe, letting those ones go if it’s not full contact. I think there needs to be some balance. I think it has gone from one extreme to the other too quickly. But for us you know we have come on the other end of that. I think in the second half we have done everything we could to try and score from open play but we had a very clear penalty call that wasn’t given. In the context of what we were trying to do we still need to be given fouls especially when they are big decisions like that.”

On Jamshedpur FC’s game-plan

Jamshedpur levelled the scores with Daniel Chima’s goal within four minutes of Chhangte’s strike. However, they seemed to be content with a point thereafter and didn’t really press to secure a victory from this encounter. Des Buckingham reflected upon it in his interaction with the media personnel.

“I think when we look back at the game, I need to watch it back, I don’t remember them having any other real opportunity on our goal. The goal that they have got has come from a long throw-in and a flick that we haven’t picked up. So, for 93 minutes of the game, we have defended really well. Because, again, I don’t remember Phurba having to make a save,” the Islanders’ tactician said.

He added, “That was a real strength of theirs that we were aware of with the height and the players that they have and how aggressive they can be. That was disappointing. For the first 15 minutes before that goal went against us, we were really good. We chucked the kitchen sink at them for the remaining of the game, especially the second half, and full credit to Jamshedpur. They dealt with it really well. We leave here now three games, unbeaten, and we travel to Kerala looking forward to have a good game there.”

How satisfied is the coach with his team after the first three games?

Mumbai has now garnered a victory along with a couple of draws after their first three games of the season. However, the head coach mentioned that these were positive results especially considering that the Islanders have had to face the two best sides from the previous year early on in this campaign.

“I am happy. Our first three games were against the champions in Hyderabad and then the league winners in Jamshedpur. To remain unbeaten in the three opening fixtures and to pick five points in that and we are still experimenting with the way we want to play,” Des Buckingham mentioned.  

“If we play that way in the next 17 games, we will come away with more points than not. That was a pleasing thing in the second half. Not the goal that we wanted but actually the way we continued to try and push and the way we continued to try and play,” he signed off.

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