New Delhi: “If you don’t score, they (rivals) will,” Brazilian legend and Delhi Dynamos’ player-manager Roberto Carlos started the post-match press conference with this Portuguese idiom.
It clearly summed up Delhi Dynamos’ 2-3 loss against FC Goa in their last league game of the Indian Super League at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi on Sunday.
The score line suggests a hard-fought defeat but what it doesn’t reflect is the manner in which the hosts lost the game.
The Dynamos blew up a two-goal first-half lead and conceded three in the second-half to miss out on the opportunity to go top of the ISL table.
“We had four opportunities but we couldn’t score. Football is a game where one needs to score and if we don’t, our rivals will. There is a saying in Portuguese – ‘If you don’t score, they will’,” Carlos said.
The Brazilian World Cup winner and one of the all time best left-backs the game has ever seen, Carlos said it was very hard to see the team lose despite playing so good in the first half.
Forwards Reinaldo Greene and Adil Nabi put Dynamos 2-0 ahead at the break. But Goa midfielder Romeo Fernandes scored in the 68th and 70th to bring his team level. Spanish midfielder Joffre Mateu sensationally scored the winner in the 90th to propel Goa to the top of the standings.
“Obviously, I am not looking at the result, happy with the performance in the first half. It was a good team effort. Congratulations to Goa, they deserved the victory. We still have two more games to go.
The Dynamos, who finished on fourth position, will take on the same opponents in the 1st leg of semi-final-1 on December 11.
Carlos said he hopes his team will play like they did in the first half.
“Hope my team performs well like they did in the first half. Very hard to see the team lose after playing the first half so good and lose in the second half,” he said.
On the other hand, FC Goa coach and another the legendary Brazilian Zico said substitute Romeo created the difference for his team.
“First half we couldn’t play well. In the second half, our attitude changed as we scored and won the game. Romeo played very well... he was the difference in the match,” Zico said
“I am not concerned with the number of goals conceded. Our target is to score goals,” he added.
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