ISL 2018-19: Pradhyum Reddy - Pune City are not fit enough to press for 45 minutes

FC Pune City suffered their third defeat on the trot in Indian Super League (ISL) on Sunday as they went down 4-2 against FC Goa at the Fatorda Stadium.

Ferran Corominas scored a brace, Hugo Boumous and Jackichand chipped in with goals to help the hosts seal three points. Marcelinho and Alfaro scored for the visitors but Reddy feels a missed spot-kick by the Argentine turned the game around. 

Following the defeat, the Stallions' interim coach Pradhyum Reddy said, “(I am) very proud the way the boys fought from the first minute. The boys gave a good account of themselves. I would have liked the result to be a lot closer at halftime. We made a couple of adjustments at halftime.

ISL

"I think the penalty is probably the turning point of the game. Had that gone in, we were about to make a few substitutions to try and change the course of the game.”

When asked if the team’s performance has improved since the departure of Miguel Angel Portugal, Reddy said, “We scored one goal in the last three games. We scored two against one of the best and fittest teams in the league. You could see the combination between Marcelinho and (Emiliano) Alfaro and the others. That's the positive we are going to take from this game.”

On their style of play against FC Goa, the Pune City coach opined, “The temptation would have been to sit back and park the bus, especially since FC Goa won the last game (against Mumbai City FC) 5-0, but the position that we are in and the players that we have, it was better suited for us play our normal game.

“We would have liked to press them. When we did press them, we created a lot of opportunities but we are not fit enough to press for 45 minutes, let alone 90 minutes.”