FC Goa head coach Carlos Pena cut a dejected figure as his side lost 1-2 to Chennaiyin FC in a Hero Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Goa on Thursday.
The defeat took FC Goa’s playoff fate out of their own hands and they would now need to beat Bengaluru FC, who are on a seven-match winning run on their own patch and hope other results go their way to sneak into the top six.
Pena suggested there was no question of his team giving up.
“It is a difficult moment for us because we no longer have control over our destiny and need to wait for other results (to go their way). We need to fight till the end. I do not know how we can play this sport in another way. We will fight till the last game and we will try and win in Bengaluru and wait for other results,” Pena was quoted in an ISL release as saying in a post-match press conference.
“We will be together again tomorrow and try to regather everyone and infuse ourselves with the belief that it is still possible to turn things around,” he added.
The Spaniard felt his team could not deal with the pressure of the situation and rushed matters when it was necessary to be composed.
“I think after conceding the first goal we were in a hurry. We created many chances in the first half but we could not convert, I made some changes at half-time and tried to change the game. We scored in a few minutes and after that, we could not deal with the pressure,” he said.
“You cannot be playing in a hurry for 40 minutes. We were not able to carry the ball on the wings and we were not able to create chances,” added Pena. (ANI)
