Season over for the Islanders, coach looks at bigger things

Delhi Dynamos were done and dusted in the first half of the season. All they had left to do was to spoil the party for other teams that were still fighting for the top four places. On the other hand, there was a rejuvenate Mumbai City FC that was eyeing a win against the won out Delhi side only to return home with a 5-1 loss dashing their playoff hopes on Tuesday.

Alexandre Guimaraes had a similar face to the one that he had in the other seven of the losses, disappointed and shattered. His side has not been so poor in terms of the football. They have created enough chances but the conversion rate of 13.08% has haunted the Costa Rican and his side. After the first few games, striker Balwant Singh was completely out of touch when it came to scoring.

Guimaraes, who was the only coach retained by the club this season might not be having the same conclusion next year after an uninspiring show this season. He made a point that he has established the franchise as a team in his tenure.

“I think in my two years at the club, we talked about establishing the franchise as a competitive team and I think we have achieved that. Coming into the last week of the ISL with a chance to qualify for the playoff spots, means we have done pretty well. A lot of teams were already out of the race before the last week started but we were still here,” said Guimaraes finding some solace in the loss.

“I think what we have done is make Mumbai stronger in the last two years as a club, a side which Mumbai fans can be proud of. Today, nobody can say a bad thing about Mumbai due to the way we play and compete and I think we have been pretty successful. The players have played their hearts out and I cannot ask anything more from them.”

The Delhi game was like other matches where Mumbai had 12 shots on target managing to convert only one into a goal. This is has been the story of the season where Guimaraes addresses the media and talks about his team not being clinical on important occasions. He had similar words on Tuesday but he also blamed his players for not being up to the mark against Delhi.

“We tried to fight today to stay in the hunt for the top four, but the players did not play well,” he stated. “We had to take some risks today. And of course, we could do little. But throughout the season, Mumbai City FC has been a respectable team. Now is the time to reorganise and see what is next.”

“I think we started pretty slowly today (Tuesday). It took us some time to figure out Delhi’s style of playing. So we could not really have any impact in the first-half. But we came to terms with their style of play in the second half, it was mostly we doing the attacking for the initial part,” he said.

After the crash out, Mumbai will face Chennaiyin FC away from home who aim for a win even after securing a place in the playoffs to reach the second spot.