Coach Albert Roca Gave Us Thoughts On His Side’s Performance Against Mohun Bagan And Spoke Highly Of The Blues’ Faithful…

On the performance of the Blues…

It was a tough game against a side who are one of the best in India. In the first half we did not play too well, we made a few mistakes that could have cost us a goal. They did find the net and we knew that it would be difficult to come back. But our players know the first thing to do when you’re down is to get up and keep fighting. I think the second half we gave a very good account of ourselves.

On scoring from set-pieces…

It’s always nice to score from set pieces because we spend a lot of time working on it. I have to appreciate our assistant manager Carles Cuadrat who has done a very good job, and the players who fought so hard throughout the game. We have controlled possession, won the ball back in their half and shown them that Bengaluru is still trying to do well and this is a competition where we intend to show our strength.

On half-time instructions given to the players and the impact of Eugeneson Lyngdoh…

I don’t want to say that one player has changed the game; it was a team performance. Everyone knows that Eugene is a great player who creates changes and helps us advance with possession. His introduction brought about a lot of good passages of play, but otherwise we were the same team. We played better in the second half, kept the ball well, attacked when it wasn’t easy and made fewer mistakes. The whole team did a very good job. At the break I asked the players to work hard, keep trying to create more chances and make fewer mistakes.

On how the win eases the pressure on his side in the League and the AFC Cup…

Yes, it does east a lot of pressure, as my team have shown in this game that they will never surrender and I am really proud of the fans here. Though I come from Barcelona, given the rough phase we are going through, these supporters are special. They have been shouting for the team even more when they have been going through such a difficult situation.

I told my players that we had to give the fans a win and I was happy that we could do that. This victory is good for our spirit and our mentality and it will help, we have won under pressure which is always difficult in football.