ISL 2022-23: Fighting spirit and character that we showed was the most important: FC Goa’s Carlos Pena

FC Goa’s head coach Carlos Pena was delighted after his team’s 3-1 win over Kerala Blasters at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa on Sunday. The Spaniard stated the fighting spirit and character that they showed were the most important positive for him.

Guarrotxena scored through a spot kick in the 35th minute whereas the lead was doubled by Morroco’s forward Noah Sadaoui in the 43rd minute. However, Dimitrios Diamantakos kept the Tuskers in the contest in the second half as he scored from a fine header in the 51st minute.

However, Redeem Tlang was able to close the door on Kerala Blasters as he scored in the 69th minute.

“The fighting spirit and the character that we showed was the most important thing today in the game. Now the guys were really competitive. Also, we played very good football in some moments. We tried to create danger with our wings and in the first half we could do that,” Pena said in the post-match press conference.

With this convincing victory, the Gaurs were able to end their last four-match winless streak. Pena was delighted with the team’s performance as they came back stronger from a difficult situation.

“I feel very happy because we came from a difficult moment. We came from a row of four games with no winning despite playing good games. Against Hyderabad FC, we deserved more, against NorthEast United FC, we could have won the game. We were not getting the results we wanted but today maybe not playing our best game because we had problems with the ball. But winning the three points, I am happy for the players and staff and they deserved it,” he added.

FC Goa is now in fifth position with 23 points after 15 matches. Pena feels his team is on the right track and they are proving their critics wrong.

“It was very important because some pessimists felt that FC Goa was going down, but I can say that was not true as this team was working very hard. Of course, we commit mistakes. We had bad days and we were not getting the result we wanted. But the guys were working very hard and I hope this win is a point of inflection for us that can give us the necessary energy for the last step and we want the fans to come in more numbers and cheer us because they are very important for us. We are absolutely alive and ready to fight for everything and this team is going to give everything,” he concluded.

FC Goa will next take on East Bengal FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa on Thursday.