“We lacked consistency throughout the season,” FC Goa’s star player Brandon Fernandes reflects back on disappointing ISL campaign

It is now two consecutive season when FC Goa have not qualified for the playoffs in the Indian Super League. Last season under Carlos Pena they finished seventh in the points table and missed out on the playoffs even though the rule change saw six teams make it to the knockout stage this time.

Under Pena’s stewardship there were some flashes of brilliance from the Gaurs but overall they flattered to deceive and dropped crucial points throughout the season. While their gameplay was still commendable, them making mistakes at the back was simply unacceptable. There were plenty of individual errors sprinkled all over the season and hence they failed to finish in the top six.

They just tallied four cleansheet and even captain Brandon Fernandes agreed that if they had more balance in defense, they would have done much better. “We did quite well for the most part (of the season) but lacked consistency,” he told TOI in an interview.

FC Goa scored 36 goals this season, which is jointly second highest alongwith Hyderabad FC and Chennaiyin FC and only behind Mumbai City FC who managed 54 goals. But they also conceded 35 goals which made matters worse. Hence Brandon feels that the team could have done a lot better defensively.

“Individual errors cost us. We did really well and scored a lot of goals (36) but at the same time conceded 35, which is not good. Defensively, we could have done better. If we had the right balance, defensively, we would have been higher up the table,” he added.

Carlos Pena’s tenure as FC Goa coach started brilliant with three wins out of the first four games. However it did not end the way he would have liked as they only earned three points from the last four matches and finished three points behind Odisha FC. The Gaurs despite all of their defensive frailties were favourites to make it to the top six. But somehow they fizzled it away.

“The last four (games) were tough. We had only one thing in mind, to go for a win, but the results did not go our way,” Brandon highlighted with agony.

However all is not lost for the Gaurs as they are preparing for the Super Cup as there are AFC tournament slots up for grabs. Brandon is positive that FC Goa will bounce back and hopefully replicate the heroics of 2019 when they won the Super Cup.

“There is the AFC Cup spot (on offer) in the Hero Super Cup, so we will go with the best team and show the best version of ourselves. We want to win and finish on a positive note. It will be really great for us,” he highlighted the importance of the Super Cup.

Brandon has suffered with a lot of injuries and missed many matches since 2020. He has hardly played all the matches for the Gaurs in a particular season. However this time he managed to do that and was very happy with how his body is holding up.

While he is happy to regain full fitnes and register 20 appearances this season, he is not happy with hios season statistics and feels that he can improve massively on several areas.

“The most important thing for me was to play all the games. I am really happy about that. With numbers (goals and assists), I think I could have done a lot more. I can always learn and improve as a player, learn from this season and add more numbers,” the midfielder concluded.

According to several reports Hyderabad FC head coach Manolo Marquez will take charge of the FC Goa side once the Super Cup comes to an end. The Gaurs have been underperforming in the last couple of seasons and wanted someone of Manolo’s experience to lead the charge.