Sergio Lobera rues missed chances in defeat against ATK

FC Goa were handed the opportunity to stretch their lead at the top after Bengaluru FC's sustained a defeat against Mumbai City FC. But a commanding show from ATK at the Salt Lake Stadium handed the Gaurs their third defeat of the season.

Goa boss Sergio Lobera rued his team's missed chances and admitted that ATK deserved the three points on the night.

He said, “I think we didn’t start the second half well. After that, we had a lot of chances to score. We took a risk in the late stages and it’s because of their counter-attacking prowess that they scored the second. I think we had all the chances, but when you have chances against big teams and don’t take it, it’s difficult to win the match.”

"I think the smaller aspects won them the game and helped them go above us in the table. The first goal changed the match. It was a mistake for us. I think we played very well in the first half."

It was evident that Goa missed the suspended Brandon (Fernandes) in midfield. The Spaniard explained that the problem was much deeper and the management's decision to sell Liston Colaco to Hyderabad FC just three days ago did not help.

“The problem isn’t only Brandon. The players who can play in that position are Jackichand (Singh), Brandon, Manvir (Singh) and Len (Doungel). The club sold Liston (Colaco) before the match so I needed to work with whatever I had. It’s not easy to lose two wingers and work with it. I think today the opportunities came through the wings as space was there. I think we missed Jackichand and Brandon today," he explained.

“It’s very important to improve in the defensive aspect. The first goal came through a set-piece The second goal is possible as we took the risk and the match was open. We only had 3 defenders defending it. It was possible for them to score in the counter-attack and unfortunately ATK scored from that.”