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Dynamos have advantage, but Goa still have chance: Zico

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IANS New Delhi

FC Goa's coach Zico said on Friday they might have lost the first leg battle of the first semi-final 1-0 but still have an equal chance of entering the final, with the return leg match to be played at their backyard on Tuesday.

Delhi Dynamos rode on a first half strike Robin Singh header to win 1-0 at the Jawaharlal Stadium here on Friday.

It was Dynamo's first win against Goa in five meetings across the two editions of the tournament. Goa were the beaten semi-finalist last year too.

Though Goa had beaten Dynamos on both legs in the group phase this season, on Friday, they wasted several chances when it mattered the most to concede a slender advantage to Dynamos.

 

Zico was not much perturbed at the loss.

"I don't foresee it as a loss. It is a contest of 180 minutes. We have still 90 minutes more to play," he said at the post-match press conference.

But the Brazilian conceded that Dynamos do enjoy an advantage due to the 1-0 goal margin and can opt to play for a draw at Goa.

"They have the advantage of playing for a draw now. But we will play to win nevertheless."

The 62-year old blamed the loss to the missed scoring opportunities and said it wasn't because of faulty tactics.

"The loss was not about tactics. It was about missed chances and we will revert to those mistakes and ensure we don't repeat them at Goa."

His counterpart and compatriot Roberto Carlos lauded the united effort of his team but said they have a long way to go to enter the final.

"Very happy with the team's performance. Everyone played well. Gustavo Dos Santos was very motivated. Robin Singh played an important part too."

Carlos added he was content with the scoreline even though they could have increased the margin in the second half.

"Happy with the 1-0 scoreline though we missed chances. Not thinking of what could have been had we taken all our chances," he said.

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First Published: Dec 11 2015 | 10:12 PM IST

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