Mumbai City have had their pre-match press conference, with head coach Petr Kratky and attacking midfielder Brandon Fernandes answering questions ahead of the side’s away match against FC Goa. Mumbai have had the better start, but Goa are a side that can give any team problems. Here are Kratky and Brandon’s thoughts ahead of the game.
Petr Kratky on FC Goa
FC Goa has had arguably a worse start compared to Mumbai, with a greater number of dropped points. Mumbai, on the other hand, is still sitting on top of the table as the only unbeaten team so far. Here’s what Petr Kratky had to say about facing off against The Gaurs.
“We know Goa is a very strong team. It was a strong team previous season. It’s a strong team now and one of the strongest teams in India. So, we have to prepare for every single moment because they have strength to hurt us. So again, we are preparing accordingly to that.”
“Every game is different. I think Goa is preparing against us, they know how we play. So, we have to look at how we expose that. As I said, our process doesn’t change. We will try to do our best in different parts of the game and different parts of the pitch on our best ability.:”
“We train today, we train tomorrow and then we fly. So, we have two training sessions in front of us to make everything work and then we’ll be on the players’ execution. If we are disciplined and follow the plan and work very hard, I think we have a chance to succeed.”
Brandon on returning to play against Goa
Brandon Fernandes is in his second stint at Mumbai, but is originally from Goa and captained FC Goa before his move to Mumbai. The attacking midfielder spoke about his focus on the game, and how his years at FC Goa affect him in the buildup to the game.
“(The) most important thing for me is to go and perform on the pitch to help my teammates to be there at my 100%. So, whenever I’m on the pitch, the outside thing doesn’t really care. It’s all about giving my 100% and doing well for the team.”
“Everywhere you go, you have to learn. And the time I spent at FC Goa, I’ve learned a lot, for sure. But I need to apply everything on the pitch. Whatever I have, whatever I train, I train with different coaches, different setups.”
“And now I’m here, I’m training here with Mumbai City FC and it’s been more than a year now, almost two seasons now. I need to be more intelligent to apply whatever needs to be applied here. My whole focus is to update myself, to be more consistent, to give more to the team.”
“Obviously, it’s all about the team sports and individually, whatever I can give, I will always give and always want to have success for the team.”
Petr Kratky on injuries
Mumbai City went into the Jamshedpur game without two key foreigners in Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Jorge Ortiz, and their absence was felt as Mumbai struggled to break down the Men of Steel’s stubborn defense. Here is what Petr Kratky had to say about their return timelines.
“Diaz had (a) very good training sessions a couple of days back, two-day training again. So he’s on the way back, which we are very happy with that. Unfortunately, Ortiz is still not ready. But again, he’s progressing in his rehab very quickly. So, we will see when he will be back.”
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