Mumbai City FC returned to the top-four of the Indian Super League (ISL) after a 1-0 win over NorthEast United FC at the Mumbai Football Arena, on Friday.
A goal from Diego Carlos (44') provided the Islanders with the lead just before half time but they were unable to get an insurance goal. The resilient defence managed a cleansheet and ensured they walked away with all three points.
Coach Jorge Costa was happy with how his team defended right from the front-line. He also spoke about how his players are now accustomed to the pressure and treating every game as a must-win.
“I’m very happy with the team. All the players helped in defence. I believe that we start defending with Amine (Chermiti), Diego (Carlos) and (Modou) Sougou. They did not get many chances, some corners and nothing special. Today was not a wonderful game,” he said.
“We are playing under a lot of pressure. We have to win and we don’t have any other option. My players have to deal with the pressure and if they can’t there are other professions – they can work in the bank or supermarket."
That some of the Mumbai players were not 100 per cent fit was a big hurdle for Costa, who also confirmed that defender Sarthak Golui will miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury.
“We are also facing some physical problems, some players who started today were not 100 percent fit. What matters most, in the end, is the three points. Sarthak is out until the end of the season. He has a knee injury and will be out for 4-6 weeks," the 48-year-old rued.
The Mumbai tactician admitted that his side were left wanting in the opening minutes against NorthEast United besides beamoning the quality of refereeing standards.
"We are not perfect. There are one or two players who are not doing what I want them to do. We had small problems in the beginning and (Federico) Gallego was having the ball. But we fixed it during the game. It was not pretty but I think we deserved to win.
"I’m not happy with the yellow card to Sougou, we lost another player for the next game. I’m not happy with my yellow card, I don’t know what I did to deserve it. Tomorrow another coach will be sitting in the other place, talking about the same thing. We can’t close our eyes. I don’t think I can change anything but there are people who can. This is not normal," Costa concluded.