Owen Coyle talks about the team’s performance, the disheartening loss against FC Goa and things that did not go as per the plan.
Here are the excerpts from the interview.
On 2 losses in a row even after getting multiple chances to score goals
Obviously, we had a long two-week break between the two games and that must have hindered the rhythm of the team and continuity of our performances. We have to get better with our game as a couple of players were not playing at their 100% and that is probably because of the injuries we have in our squad. On the other hand, FC Goa were a really strong side tonight with the keeper being the man of the match. We did have 5-6 great chances to score goals but the man at goal made some terrific saves. We have to get better defensively and we did poorly in our defence while also missing some opportunities to score goals. With those two errors in one night, one cannot expect to win games.
On the team being outplayed by FC Goa
No, I don't think so. FC Goa have a certain style of playing but if you look at the chances created and shots on target, we probably had the same amount as FC Goa. But FC Goa passed the ball really well and were great together as a team.
On being caught off-guard due to the opposition’s tactics
No, it’s nothing like that! I think what we did not do is take our chances to score and we also did not perform well defensively tonight. FC Goa are a very strong side and they have shown that in their performance every season. They also possess some terrific players. We were not caught off-guard. We knew what to expect from the opposition tonight but we did not perform individually as well as collectively as a team. We did not play to our full potential. FC Goa were the better side tonight and we were way below our usual performance.
On Ortiz being a bigger threat to the team than Igor Angulo
Igor Angulo is a wonderful player to have in the team and with two players like Igor and Jorge Ortiz on the same side, the opposition should prepare well defensively. We did prepare for Angulo on the field but Ortiz is a strong player in the team who can play all over the field and brings the ball up for the team with his quick movements. He is undoubtedly an outstanding player who was signed for his amazing quality because he did cause us some trouble tonight.
On players getting multiple chances to score
We created good 7-8 chances to score today. The keeper (Naveen Kumar) at FC Goa made some very good saves with one of the few being Isaac’s powerful shot, a shot by Valskis in the first half and that header from Stephen Eze. There was another attempt by Jackichand which was cleared off the goalline. So, we had several great chances to score. If they wouldn’t have been saved, we could have also had a number of goals on our side.
On other teams starting to figure out the team’s tactics
No, they have not figured out our tactics yet. It was just a game where we played below our usual performance level. So we will take in all the criticism from tonight and pick ourselves up to get ready for another game because that is the spirit of this club and we have to make sure we are ready for the next challenge.
On how the team plans to address the loss tonight
Tonight, the real demoralising thing was losing Alex Lima to a red card. FC Goa had players with a yellow card and still committed rash fouls. They were still allowed to stay and play on the field. I do not want any player to get sent off in the upcoming games and I want all games to be 11 on 11 players on the field against strong teams. It feels like Alex Lima took his first free kick after his yellow card and then unfortunately, received another card to get sent off. I was more upset with that than the result. Of course no one wants to lose a game by any margin, but we will pick ourselves up from the loss and gear up for the next game because that is real football. After a loss, when you feel sorry for yourself and the team, you have to pick yourself up to go back into the training session and work harder, and that is exactly what we will do.
