Margao: FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez feels there’s room for improvement after his side edged past East Bengal FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here in Goa on Wednesday night.
The Gaurs took the upper hand from the offset, generating waves of attack through both flanks. After missing a couple of chances, Noah Sadaoui finally broke the deadlock in the dying minutes of the first half with a right-footed, powerful strike.
Throughout the game, the hosts maintained dominance with the ball and took 26 shots, of which seven were on target. Marquez’s men could have easily won the game by a big margin, but their efforts were either denied by the crossbar or East Bengal FC keeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill.
The FC Goa head coach, however, was delighted with his players because they had finally ended their five-match winless streak following their victory against East Bengal FC at home.
“I’m very happy because we won, and this is the most important thing in football,” he said in the post-match press conference.
Marquez shared his dissatisfaction with his players’ inability to finish their chances in front of goal. From Noah Sadaoui to Carlos Martinez to Udanta Singh, all missed numerous chances throughout the entire game that prevented them from extending their lead.
“But if today we don’t score three or four goals, when will we score? I know that after a couple of bad results, it’s difficult. But, sometimes, when you have suffered in terms of finishing, you can win a game easily,” he asserted.
The Spaniard also felt unlucky with the substitutions that he made against the Red and Golds in the second half.
Speaking in context, he said, “One moment of the game was very unlucky when we substituted Carlos Martinez, because for me, if not the best, he was one of the best players on the pitch. I substituted him because I thought, with Borja Herrera and Noah Sadoui, we could arrive at counter-attacks. And two minutes later, when Borja (Herrera) was injured, we had to change our plans. Even Paulo Retre played very well after coming in.”
He acknowledged that the match could have resulted in 3-0 or 4-0 in their favour based on their performance in the opposition half. The Gaurs have had 46 touches in East Bengal FC’s box throughout the game but failed to convert their chances.
“The number of chances we missed today, for me, is incredible. If the score was 3-0 or 4-0, maybe it would be fair,” he commented.
The 55-year-old had words of praise for his offensive duo, Martinez and Sadaoui, who played well in terms of finding spaces in the opposition box and creating goal-scoring movements.
Despite scoring the sole goal of the match, Marquez believed that Sadaoui should work on his finishing to improve his game.
Speaking in context, he said,“It’s true that he Noah Sadaoui scored the goal, but I don’t want to say that he played a very good game.”
“I think both Carlos Martinez and Noah played well. Carlos missed the chances, and Noah Sadaoui scored the goal. I know people only focus on the goals, but in terms of how the team plays, we need both players,” he concluded.
