ISL 2023-24: Mumbai City FC deserved to win – Antonio Habas after final loss

Mohun Bagan Super Giant head coach Antonio Lopez Habas admitted that Mumbai City FC deserved to win the Indian Super League Cup after their 3-1 loss in the summit clash at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium, Kolkata on Saturday.

The hosts took the lead at the stroke of half-time with their in-form striker Jason Cummings scoring in the 44th minute. However, the Islanders bounced back strongly, with Jorge Pereyra Diaz equalizing eight minutes into the second half.

Subsequently, Boris Singh scored in the 81st minute to put the tourists in front whereas Jakub Vojtus scored in the stoppage time to put the game to bed.

Habas admitted they scored against the run of play and gave his congratulations to the opposition for being the better team.

“We were winning the match, but we were not superior to the opponent. Because I think that Mumbai City FC were better than us in the first 45 minutes and we took the lead, 1-0, but it was not the correct score. Congratulations to Mumbai City FC,” stated Habas in the post-match press conference.

He added, “I think that Mumbai City FC deserved the score and we have to continue working and take good decisions (regarding the strategies and performance of the players).”

Meanwhile, 62,007 people were in attendance and the majority of the fans were the Mariners’ supporters but they had to return home disappointingly.

He said, “I am disappointed because we wanted to say goodbye to the supporters today with a victory. But we couldn’t. In football, it’s impossible that you can choose when you can win or you can lose.”

Explaining his team’s poor performance, he opined, “Today, my players kept fighting, fighting, fighting until the final whistle. But I think that psychologically, two must-win matches (final league game against Mumbai City FC and semi-final second leg against Odisha FC), transcendental matches in the last month is maybe, and today is tiring mentally.”