Carlos Pena: To be a big team we have to be consistent

by Chittu Shetty November 27, 2022

Saturday was not FC Goa’s day, with Carlos Pena and his boys succumbing to a 2-0 defeat against Bengaluru FC in the Hero Indian Super League at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda.

This was their third loss this season for the Gaurs, who won the other four of the seven matches played so far. It shows that while the Men in Orange have impressed in terms of performances, lack of consistency poses a problem for the side.

One reason for this could be the relatively new-look squad, with as many as seven new signings made this summer and a complete overhaul of the coaching staff.

Carlos Pena, who previously played for FC Goa and is now their head coach, understands the need for consistency within a team competing for trophies and stressed that they are continuing to work on it despite the setback against Bengaluru FC.

“The next step is consistency, I told you before the game as well. We had a great challenge today because we thought this game was going to be easy and it wasn’t. We came from a big game against ATK Mohun Bagan, and to be a big team you need to be consistent,” he explained at the post-match press conference.

“Go through these days and win the games like today but it can happen. We knew that we were facing a very good opponent and now, the first thing is that we have to move on and win new challenges.”

‘Against BFC, we created our own problems

Both the goals scored by the Blues on Saturday happened as a result of some defensive errors by FC Goa. Speaking after the match, Pena opined that they could have been avoided.

“I think we were too low in terms of energy in the first half, especially in winning the ball. We didn’t understand how to move the ball (to make it tough on the opponents) and we created our own problems as both goals came from us losing possession. Overall, yeah, a bad day,” he said.

“They (Bengaluru FC) came to wait for the chances, to defend properly, to be compact and together, and to try to get the chances on the counter-attack. Their plan worked really well, they had two chances, they took them and we lost.

“Well, we now have to bounce back, think soon about Thursday because we have a new game,” the 38-year-old further added.

Update on Edu Bedia

When the Men in Orange announced the starting XI earlier in the day, it took fans by surprise as star midfielder Edu Bedia was named among the substitutes. After the match against Bengaluru FC, Carlos Pena revealed why he did not start the former FC Barcelona man.

“When we finished the last game, he (Edu) had some pain in the abductor (muscle). I was thinking about the next game on Thursday, we have two games soon. I trusted in my squad and I started the playing eleven that I wanted to play,” the tactician said.

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