Coach Roca Discussed The Blues’ ISL Opener, Tactics And The Fans After Win Over Mumbai…

Bengaluru FC got off to a winning start in their debut campaign in the Indian Super League after a clinical performance helped them to a 2-0 win over last season’s league toppers Mumbai City FC at the Fortress on Sunday. Speaking at the post match press conference, Head Coach Albert Roca shared his views on the game, tactics employed, the atmosphere and fans.

In what was a tricky game, both sides played out a goalless first half before a training ground move from a set-piece gave BFC the lead in the 67th minute. A quick interplay on a corner kick between Edu Garcia and Udanta Singh on the right saw the Spaniard slot home a powerful grounder at the near post to become the Blues’ first-ever goalscorer in the ISL. Analyzing the breakthrough in the game, Roca said, “I think Carles (Cuadrat) is doing a great job with the set-pieces but at the same time, the players are also putting in a lot of effort. It’s a very important aspect of football and a considerable amount of goals are scored through them. Today was a tough game, we created some chances in the first half but weren’t lucky. With set-pieces, we can open the game at times and we need to keep working on that along with other things that we must improve upon. It’s a long race ahead and we must be prepared for a lot of battles.”

One of the standout performances on the night came from Udanta who was tormenting the Mumbai City defenders with his quick feet and received praise from the Boss. “Udanta had a good game, and I’m very happy with his performance. He is young and gave us a lot of options on the field. He is undoubtedly one of the fastest players on the pitch and we must take advantage of that quality. He has a long career ahead of him and I am sure he will get better.”

Talking about the atmosphere inside the Fortress, Roca explained, “It is very important for the club and the city that so many fans turn up to support this team. It was even more important for us to get the win which creates that instant bond with the fans at the start of the season. Our relationship with the fans is a special one and as we move forward we want to make it even more special. This is the kind of atmosphere that gets the best out of the players and we hope to see it continue throughout the season.”