ISL 2021-22: I am proud of the way we fought in the second half – Mumbai City FC’s Des Buckingham

Mumbai City FC head coach Des Buckingham was proud of his team with the way they fought in the second half against Jamshedpur FC in the 67th match of the ongoing Hero Indian Super League at the Athletic Stadium, Bambolim on Thursday. Buckingham reckons the team should have got something out of the match as they dominated the possession with 62% whereas they took eight shots on target.

In fact, the defending champions were on the back foot as they went into half-time after trailing by 2-0. However, Mumbai City was able to bounce back stronger in the second half as they equalized after Rahul Bheke and Diego Mauricio (through penalty) scored for them. The Islanders however should have equalized in the 71st minute of the game but Igor Angulo squandered his chance from the penalty as TP Rehenesh made a brilliant save.

Des Buckingham said in the post-match press conference, “We didn’t start well and then to lose Ahmed Jahouh put us on the back foot a little bit. They went into half-time leading 2-0. We made some changes, got ourselves back into the game. It was 2-1 and then with the penalty we should have made it 2-2. But then we managed to make it 2-2. Then we conceded a goal from a penalty with a handball in the 94th minute which wasn’t a nice feeling but I am proud of the way we fought back in the second half and we should have taken something from the game”.

Buckingham also revealed what was his chat with the players at half-time break when they were trailing by 2-0.

He added, “We needed to get more bodies behind Jamshedpur FC. They defend very well and are very aggressive. A lot of the first half we played in front of them which makes it easier for them to defend against us. With the pace of Bipin and Chhangte, we just wanted to get some support around Igor. So we went to two 10s and played one six and in the second half we managed to do that a lot more”.

Speaking about the positives from the game, Des Buckingham added that the team’s performance in the second half was satisfactory.

He said, “I think the way we controlled the second half and the chances we created in the second half. I think we should have come away with a result whether that’s a draw or more. But I am proud about how we responded especially in the second half and after losing an influential player for us”.

Mumbai City will look to bounce back stronger in their next matches. The defending champions will face SC East Bengal at the PJN Stadium, Fatorda on Tuesday.