Substitutes Are The Reason Behind The Winning Run, Says Des Buckingham

Defending champions and league leaders Mumbai City FC strengthened their grip on the top spot in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) with a 4-2 win over second-placed Jamshedpur FC at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao, Goa on Thursday.

Mumbai ran havoc in the first half as they were 3-0 up thanks to goals from Cassio Gabriel (3’), Bipin Singh (17’) and Igor Angulo (24’) before Jamshedpur FC hit back in the second half to pull two goals back through Komal Thatal (48’) and Eli Sabia (55’). However, Ygor Catatau (70’) added a fourth for Mumbai City FC after coming off the bench to seal the victory for the Islanders.

Speaking after the game MCFC manager Des Buckingham said “We scored four goals. Again, we continued to show real attacking, attractive football. To go three goals up against an excellent team, a very well-coached Owen Coyle team. It was excellent. Full credit to them as well. They nearly got themselves back in the game. But, I’m proud of how we stood up, at 3-2 especially. And then went on to score the fourth and secure the game for us.”

Speaking on the impact from the bench he said “We want impact from every player that comes on from the bench. Ygor continues to deliver in that aspect and so do the others. Actually, the changes in the last couple of games are the big reasons how we have gone on to finish the game strong. But, we also have to look at the ones that started the game. Igor again scored an excellent goal.” Mumbai now have a 4-point lead over the second-place Jamshedpur FC. The gap means the Islanders have a cushion in the early stages of the league