MARGAO: At least for the next few weeks, the Indian Super League (ISL) title race won’t be a procession. Mohun Bagan Super Giant were threatening to leave everyone behind in the race for the coveted Shield, but the defending cham -pions were pegged back by a determined, or as coach Manolo Marquez would say, motivated FC Goa at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Friday.
Goals in either half from local boy Brison Fernandes helped Goa hand Mohun Bagan their first defeat in nine games.
Dimitrios Petratos kept his record of scoring against Goa – he has now scored in the last four games – with a secondhalf penalty to end his six-match ISL goal drought, but the hosts survived the onslaught from the opponents for the last quarter. The win took Goa to third on the table with 22 points at the end of the first leg, with Bagan now on top with 26.
1-0 wins no issue for Mumbai City boss Kratky ahead of Chennaiyin clash: Two wins, no defeats and no goals conceded from their last three fixtures are encouraging numbers for Mumbai City going into Saturday’s ISL clash with Chennaiyin at the Mumbai Football Arena.
Should they have fared better, though, considering those victories came against teams occupying the bottom two spots in the standings? That was a question thrown at Islanders coach Petr Kratky at Friday’s prematch press conference. His response was telling when the questioner asked him if it was time for his men to be more clinical, with the season at the halfway mark.
“I hope so,” the Czech said with a laugh, “But sometimes one goal is, for me, enough. Yes, we want to win (scoring) three, four, five or six. That’s good for the fans, but for the team, sometimes that one-nil, it’s more impor -tant than three, four or five.”
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