ISL 2018-19: Jamshedpur FC didn't play defensive football despite being pushed by Mumbai City FC, says coach Cesar Ferrando

Mumbai: Jamshedpur FC lived up to all the pre-season hype with a convincing 2-0 victory over Mumbai City FC at the Mumbai Football Arena on Tuesday. [caption id=“attachment_5305201” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Jamshedpur FC players celebrate the opening goal against Mumbai City FC. Jamshedpur FC[/caption] Mario Arques provided the breakthrough for Jamshedpur with a thumping header from the far post, followed by a late strike by Pablo Morgado which sealed the three points for the visitors. Cesar Ferrando’s side was dominant in the first 45 minutes, but Mumbai looked like a marginally better team in the second-half before switching off in the dying embers of the match. “We played well for one hour but then Mumbai is a good team and they played well. We tried to keep the lines together and keep the save. We know we could have had another chance but we are really happy with the result,” Ferrando told reporters at the post-match press conference. Despite being forced to track back and regroup, Jamshedpur played an attractive brand of football for the majority of the match against Mumbai. Ferrando refused to believe that his side played defensive football. “We didn’t play defensive football. Mumbai pushed us a lot in the second half so we had to draw back and defend at that time. I am very happy with my goalkeeper’s (Subhasish Roy Chowdhury) performance,” the 56-year-old explained. “The difference between the two halves was that my players became tired in the second half. We made some changes. Mumbai is also a good team and they played well in the second half. No team in the world can always attack. You have to defend as well,” he added. Jamshedpur’s marquee signing Tim Cahill enjoyed his side’s performance against Mumbai, albeit from the stands due to a one-match suspension. In his absence, striker Sumeet Passi impressed coach Ferrando, who said he has the best players in the world. “Cahill is a very important player for us on and off the field. I hope he can play in the next match. But I am very happy with Passi’s work. He worked a lot and he could score. He worked for the team and not for himself. He ran a lot, he worked a lot and he fought a lot for the team. For me, he was the man of the match,” the former Atletico Madrid coach concluded.