FATORDA: FC Goa’s semi-final hopes were crushed following their defeat at home against Kolkata at Fatorda Stadium, on Thursday.
The Gaurs are rooted at the bottom of the table with 11 points in 12 games and with the top four finish out of reach FC Goa winger Mandar Rao Desai hopes to better the team’s position in the next two games.
“We will try to win the last two games as our aim is not to finish last. We will try to finish fifth or sixth,” expressed Mandar Rao Desai.
FC Goa struggled throughout the tournament as they failed to find the right rhythm and flair that saw them qualify for the first two seasons.
“The start wasn’t good. We had just four points in the first seven games and it was not good enough. We tried our best but we were unlucky,” the left winger said.
Zico couldn’t retain most of his choice players who helped the team to reach the season 2 final as the Brazilian was confirmed late to lead the team for the third consecutive season following the season two fiasco that saw them lose some key players.
“We missed some players. Leo Moura and Jonathan Lucca – I think we missed them. The quality of the current players is different from last year. This year as well the players were good but we didn’t get the right start,” Mandar explained.
Despite Goa’s rollercoaster ride, the 12th man was always with the team in their rough phase and Mandar took the time out to thank the fans for their unconditional support throughout the league and apologised for not qualifying for the knock out phase.
“We had always more than 15,000 fans at the stadium. We gave our best to them as our boys tried their best but we lost and here the result matters. Would like to apologise to our fans for these results.” Mandar concluded.
