ISL 2022-23: The results are coming and the team is improving a lot: FC Goa’s Carlos Pena

FC Goa head coach Carlos Pena was delighted with his team’s 4-2 win over East Bengal FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa on Thursday. Pena stated that the results are going their way and the team is improving a lot in the recent past.

The Gaurs had also won their Sunday fixture against Kerala Blasters by 3-1. FC Goa is currently in third position in the standings with eight wins from 16 matches and a total of 26 points. Thus, they look all set to qualify for the playoff stages.

Meanwhile, Guarratoxena scored a hat-trick for the home team whereas Brandon Fernandes scored in the 53rd minute to give a comprehensive lead of 4-0 to his team. Suhair and Sarthak scored for the visitors but it was not enough for East Bengal FC.

“They pushed us a lot in the second half. They created a lot of problems. They played with pride. They crossed a lot and had many set-pieces. They scored two goals but overall, we were better than them and deserved the victory. They came here with few chances remaining to reach the playoffs, but they played a good game,” said Pena at the official post-match press conference.

“We need to be humble. We are happy and confident. We need to think about how in the next game against Odisha FC we can get the three points and try to assure a place in the playoffs as soon as possible,” he added.

Guarratoxena scored a fine hat trick to continue his dream form for the Gaurs. The Spaniard has scored 10 goals in 16 matches of the ongoing season and Pena was all praise for the striker.

“It’s very important for a striker to score goals. Iker has helped the team since the start of the season. At the start, he didn’t score too many goals but he worked a lot for the team. Now, he is having more accuracy. He’s understanding better what we want from him. I’m very happy for him because he is a hard worker and a nice person,” said FC Goa head coach Pena.

Pena feels the competition for the top six is intense and the team is improving after they lost against Hyderabad FC.

“Many teams were having possibilities of getting into the top six. Many of them thought we were the opponent to catch. But when we lost against Hyderabad FC, I said the performance of the team was good. I felt that the team was improving. Against NorthEast United FC, we didn’t play a bad game, but we didn’t get the result. But now, the results are coming and the team is improving a lot. We are reaching the last games with our best performances and we are confident now. There are still four games to finish the league and then the playoffs, if we qualify. We need to keep working this way,” Pena concluded.

FC Goa will next take on Odisha FC at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneshwar on 6th February.