The 22-year-old played a significant role in the goalless draw against Al Wahda on Saturday…
Devendra Murgaokar feels that FC Goa are close to scoring a goal in the 2021 AFC Champions League (ACL).
The Gaurs are making their maiden appearance in the continental competition and have registered consecutive goalless draws against Qatar’s Al-Rayyan and UAE’s Al Wahda.
What Devendra said
The former Salgaocar player was brought on as a substitute for Ishan Pandita in both the ACL fixtures, albeit for almost a half (54′ substitute) against Al Wahda after a cameo (86′ substitute) appearance in the game against Al-Rayyan.
“I feel good. It was a good experience playing some real big (ACL) games. These are the kind of games a player looks forward to as footballers,” the attacker who signed a three-year deal with FC Goa in 2019 told Goal.
Murgaokar had fetched Salgaocar a transfer fee of INR 10 lakhs. He scored once in his debut Indian Super League (ISL) season with Goa as he saved his side’s blushes in a 1-1 draw against East Bengal and before that, nine goals for Salgaocar in the Goa Pro League that was discontinued due to the Coronavirus pandemic last season.
Surprised, Murgaokar?
Murgaokar particularly had an impressive performance in the tie against Al Wahda on Saturday wherein he nearly contributed to a goal in his first minute on the pitch. He also displayed composure when it came to bringing the ball into the final third.
Surprised by the two draws? “Yes and no,” he responded. “We had to grow into the situations very quickly. We know that any mistake is going to be punished. So our focus has really shown (in the games). Knowing the importance of playing as a team, every day we are pushing ourselves to be better.
“I think we can do a lot better in the attacking aspect. We haven’t scored a goal yet but we are getting closer. I hope that it (a goal) comes very soon,” he looks forward to Goa’s tie against Persepolis on Tuesday.
