Panjim: Who could have imagined what FC Goa achieved in
their first ever AFC Champions League campaign. They had recorded two clean
sheet prior to Monday’s game and were verge of recording a historic result
against Lau-rent Blanc’s Al Rayyan until the 89th minute, that’s when the
Qatari team snatched a late equaliser.
While everyone were de-jected, Coach Juan Ferrando was even
more heartbroken as he wanted to win it for the Nation.
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“It was a very important game because the situation in India
is very difficult at this moment. We were thinking that if we win it will be a
good moment for the Indian people because it’s very difficult for the players
at the moment. They were talking about playing for India because I know about
the difficult moments. But, we con-ceded at the last moment. This is football,”
he averred.
lose in the last minute. But, the truth is that we are
play-ing against very good teams. It is a pleasure to play against Persepolis,
Al Wahda and Al Rayyan,” Fer-rando commented.
The Gaurs are currently on three points from five matches
with their last match slated against Al Wahda FSCC on April 30.
“It is necessary to talk with the players because they have
done a great job. Of course, we need to im-prove. We have our next match
against Al Wahda. There are some injuries, and it is difficult to prepare. The
medical staff have been working tirelessly,” Fer-rando added.
“We needed to be better during the transition prior to
conceding. That’s a big difference between the other teams playing here and us.
It was a terrible mo-ment for my players to con-cede at the last moment. They
were also exhausted,” he expressed.
“I am extremely proud of my players and happy for the manner
they re-sponded. It is good to play in a competition like the AFC Champions
League and we need to improve and cut down on our mis-takes during our practice
sessions.”
