FC Goa began their ISL 2024-25 campaign on Tuesday with a narrow 2-1 loss to Jamshedpur FC at home, in a game that saw head coach Manolo Marquez express both disappointment and hope for a strong response in the upcoming matches.

Despite the defeat, Marquez remained optimistic, encouraging the team to stay focused on the road ahead, starting with their next fixture against Mohammedan SC in Kolkata.

Reflecting on the clash against the Men of Steel, the Spaniard addressed the pivotal moment that saw Jamshedpur FC awarded a penalty, which proved decisive. “I saw the replays now after the game. The pull of the shirt (by Odei Onaindia on Javi Siverio) is there,” he remarked.

While admitting the pull was slight, he acknowledged that Javi Siverio, a player he knows well from his time in Spain and Hyderabad FC, was “clever” in winning the foul. “It was very minimal contact, but he was clever and our player was not clever enough. The referee was there to see it and he whistled for the penalty.”

Marquez, however, was also quick to clarify that the penalty wasn’t the primary reason for FC Goa’s loss. “We didn’t lose the game because of the decision or the penalty goal. We lost the game because we were very bad.” He pointed to larger concerns with the team’s overall performance, particularly their lack of intensity after the first 20 minutes.

The coach’s post-match analysis was blunt, especially regarding the foreign players. “Today is perhaps the day I’ve been most angry since I first arrived in India nearly five years ago,” he said. “We cannot allow one performance like the one we had today, especially from the foreigners. The foreigners were walking on the pitch throughout the game.

“You know that the Indian players need them, and if the foreigners are walking on the pitch and playing their own game, we will have problems. All of them.”

Despite these criticisms, Manolo Marquez pointed out that every team has its challenges, acknowledging Jamshedpur FC’s physical and long-ball style. “Playing against Jamshedpur FC is not easy. They play a lot of long balls, and physically they are very strong, and we didn’t play a good game,” he admitted. Even though FC Goa opened the scoring early on, Marquez felt the team lost its structure as the game progressed.

While the defeat was disappointing, the 56-year-old found a silver lining, noting the strong performance of young midfielder Brison Fernandes before fatigue set in. “If I have to mention one player who performed well today, it was Brison till he was very tired.” However, he stressed the need for collective improvement: “Speaking well about someone is difficult because we performed very, very badly as a team.”

Despite the harsh critique, Marquez remains optimistic. He drew on his past experiences to encourage the team and fans to remain hopeful.

“Maybe you don’t believe me, but when the score was 1-1 and we were observing from the sidelines, I mentioned on the bench that, ‘If we lose the game, it will be positive for us.’ Even when Hyderabad FC won the ISL Cup in 2021-22 when I was there, we lost the first game against Chennaiyin FC, and the team responded very well. Let’s see the character of the team now.”

The message is clear: the response to this defeat will define the team’s season. “If we lack character, we won’t react, but I feel that we will react after today’s defeat.”

As FC Goa now prepare for their next assignment away to Mohammedan SC in Kolkata, what Manolo Marquez has said serve as a rallying cry. This loss, he believes, could be the catalyst for a strong comeback, and the Gaurs will now look to rise to the challenge and put this result behind them.