Northeast United FC head coach Khalid Jamil admitted that he wanted his boys to win the game, but was happy to get a point at the end against a tough FC Goa side. The Highlanders are at the fifth position in the league table, having collected 22 points from 15 matches, including five wins.
Northeast United FC’s miraculous turnaround in the ongoing Indian Super League was unexpected when the management sacked Gerard Nus a few weeks ago. But Khalid Jamil, a vastly experienced coach in Indian football, took charge of the side and guided them to three back-to-back victories, while they could have also scripted the fourth on the trot, only for FC Goa to play some quality football to deny them the same. The former I-League winning coach admitted that he wanted his boys to win the game, but was happy to get a point at the end against a tough FC Goa side.
“We are happy to get point. We are trying to get three points. But sometimes it happens. Everyone played their normal game. Sometimes it’s okay. I am thinking about the next game. It is important to get the win but Goa are also a good team. They have quality, it was a tough game,” said Khalid Jamil, during the post-match press conference.
According to the Highlanders’ boss, the plan was not to concede any early goal, which was exactly what happened in the 21st minute, with FC Goa’s Alexander Romario Jesuraj on the score-sheet. But, Fredrico Gallego restored parity soon to level the scores by the end of the first half. Gurjinder Kumar scored an own goal in the 80th minute, which was neutralized by Gallego’s second spot-kick of the evening.
“We tried not to concede at least in the first half, this is our plan but we conceded an early goal. We came back again. Next time, we will have to be very careful. We are always thinking about the winning goal, that’s why we made the changes at the end. They tried their best,” added the manager.
