Mumbai City FC remain six points adrift of the top four places in the 2017-18 Indian Super League (ISL) table. A 2-0 loss at the Mumbai Football Arena to neighbours FC Pune City on Sunday did not help their case in any way.
"We did the best we could in creating opportunities. But there was an obstruction. We tried to impose our game in the first half. After a few misses in the second half, we couldn't make it," began Mumbai City head coach Alexandre Guimaraes while he addressed the media after the game.
"Later (after the first goal) we took our risks. Pune had the second chance which they didn't miss. That's the story of the game," the 58-year old assessed the game.
"In the first half, we missed too many balls which allowed Pune to be expanded. We adjusted later and had the game in the way we wanted. My defence did what I asked of them. Unfortunately, at the end, you have to take risks which makes the game open. We had to do everything to get a draw at least but we couldn't convert our chances."
"In set plays, it depends on the organisation of the others. They were well organized and the ball didn't go where we expected it to," he added.
Hit by injuries, the former Tianjin Teda coach conceded that most of the changes in his playing eleven were enforced rather than tactical. "The changes (in defence) are because of injuries which hurt us very much. This is why I had to make the changes," he said.
With his three-man frontline consisting of Balwant Singh, Everton Santos and Thiago Santos misfiring, he was forced to bring in Rafa Jorda, who made his sixth appearance off the bench. The Spaniard has been poor this season as Guimaraes revealed that they were yet to find out how to integrate the striker into their system.
"Jorda had his chances and sometimes we don't recognise how to involve him in the game but he's trying his best to improve," he commented.
"We still have 12 points to play for. If we win the four games we have, we reach 30 which can make us qualify. We have to play our best in Kolkata," Guimaraes concluded.
