ISL 2021-22: Mumbai needs to do better with the decisions - Buckingham on Kerala defeat

Mar 3, 2022, 1:41 PM IST

It was an unpleasant outing for defending champion Mumbai City FC (MCFC) against Kerala Blasters FC (KBFC) in Game 61 of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22. Played at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco da Gama (Goa) on Wednesday, MCFC suffered a 1-3 defeat, while its semis chances have taken a severe blow. Meanwhile, MCFC boss Des Buckingham is not impressed with the team’s decision-making abilities.

After the defeat, Buckingham reckoned that MCFC needs to better, especially in the final stages of the matches, in terms of making decisions. He admitted that the race for the semis is tough now, hoping for a win against Hyderabad FC (HFC), besides also wishing that FC Goa (FCG) stops KBFC. He also rued a possible penalty in the opening half that wasn’t awarded, leading to MCFC’s demise in this match.

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“We felt we could get more players in the attacking third, and we chose to go with a three at the back. And, I thought we played very well in the second half, that they never had one shot, and that’s not even the shot. It’s a mistake that got them the third goal. We need to do better in the final third with our decisions. But, in terms of performance second half, I was happy that I think the penalty at the start could have changed the outcome, but again that takes nothing away from Kerala Blasters,” Buckingham noted during the post-match press conference.