The Boss Talks About A Tough Draw In Goa, Ashique’s Performance And The Rivalry…
On the result…
I think today we managed the game well and didn’t let them create any chances. I don’t remember any save from Gurpreet. So I’m happy with the work of the team, and the physical contribution of my players, because they really went at it. But I’m not happy with the result, because I think that we really deserved the three points.
On key foreigners missing…
Well, we didn’t have Miku for half a season last time and we kept picking up points. With Paartalu, he was out in the semifinals and in the final, and we won the ISL. What it means is that we work as a team and we have 25 players to give what they have, whenever they are called upon. So, I’m not worried about that. I think that we deserve to have six points until now. We got two points, so it’s okay. But we have created the chances and managed the games, and I’m not really worried about the past.
On the penalty decision…
From my place I couldn’t see much, but what I’m not satisfied is with the action. I think in that moment of the game, you have to avoid trying to get the ball. I think that it’s a good lesson for Ashique. He is a player who is giving us a lot. Sometimes when you are young, you need to experience that kind of a situation to keep improving as a player and to keep learning. I think that he was fantastic today against Len and Jackichand. But in that moment, he made a double error – he didn’t clear ball first, and then he made a mistake. It’s easier to score a penalty than score from that play because of the angle and the fact that we had Gurpreet there. But Ashique is a clever player and will learn a lot from tonight.
On stopping FC Goa…
We work really hard and we always have a plan. If you see in the ISL, I think we’re the only team who manages to control FC Goa. So it is a big satisfaction for me because I really work hard to create the game plan. So far it has been working and I hope we can do the same when they play in at the Kanteerava.
On difficulty in penetrating FC Goa…
If you see the last few games against Goa, we always opened scoring with a set-piece. Bheke here in Fatorda, Juanan at Kanteerava and Bheke again in the final. So I think that it was quite similar as always. Then when you go 1-0 up you have to try and get the second goal because otherwise you will suffer right till the end and that’s what happened. We tried by putting Semboi up front and had some runs by Sunil, Udanta and Ashique. But if you don’t score the second goal, the other team will always have a chance to score and level the game.
