‘We lost focus before the final whistle’ – FC Goa’s Edu Bedia opens up about their encounter against North East United FC

Midfielder Edu Bedia has contributed to the Gaurs’ season, much like he has for the majority of his time with FC Goa. With an injury-time goal in their season opener, the Spaniard showed off his talent once again and gave the team the winning start they needed.

On Saturday, Edu Bedia performed admirably once more, scoring the 12th goal of his Indian Super League (ISL) career and assisting Carlos Pena’s team in maintaining the momentum from last week’s victory over Odisha. His goal against NorthEast United gave the Gaurs their sixth victory of the year, moving them up to the fifth place with 18 points in the standings.

“I know they (NEUFC) are going through tough times, but they’re a good side just like every other team in this league. They gave us a tough fight, and are surely going to start winning matches soon,” the Spaniard said following Saturday night’s win.

“We did well in parts against them, but could have done much better. We lost focus before the final whistle, as a result of which we lost what could have been our fifth clean sheet this season. Focus is important, because only then can we compete for the top honours. We have important matches coming up, and we hope to take forward the learnings from today and secure more points.”

NorthEast United, Goa’s opponents, played well despite giving up two goals early on and even managed to score one goal back in stoppage time. “This was an important result. Previously, we were struggling in terms of consistency where we would win a game but lose the next, and so on. We’ve now won two matches on the bounce – it shows we’re on the right track but there’s plenty of room for improvement as well,” Edu added.

We need to be on our best levels during more minutes in the game: FC Goa head coach, Carlos Pena

FC Goa head coach Carlos Pena reiterated the need to play with more consistency during the post-game press conference. Even though he was pleased with the outcome, he suggested that the Gaurs raise their performance standards.

“We need to be on our best levels during more minutes in the game. Today, for example, we played brilliantly for the first 30 minutes and for the rest of the 60 minutes we were not so good. We didn’t get punished today, but the same will not be the case every day,” he said.

“Regardless, I think we are in a good position. All the teams are very close with points tied up in fourth, fifth and sixth position. It’s now time to think about the next game and to keep moving forward,” the 38-year-old concluded.