Interim Coach Naushad Moosa Spoke About To Us After The Blues’ Defeat To ATK Mohun Bagan, Gave Us An Update On Rahul Bheke’s Injury And His Assessment Of Bengaluru’s Playoff Chances…
On the defeat to ATK Mohun Bagan…
To be honest, we started really well. Especially until the water break in the first half, we had a good momentum building up. But after the penalty the players sort of lost their motivation and I could see the frustration creeping in. We conceded unnecessary fouls and then we were 2-0 down. I believe we could have controlled the game better.
On going two goals down…
It is always difficult to score when you are playing against a team like ATK Mohun Bagan. They are very strong at the back and have quality players in attack. When you’re two goals down, you have to stay calm, keep the ball and find a way back. We did try to get back in the second half but it didn’t work out for us.
On the fouls to give away the penalty and the free kick…
The way the game was going on, it gets hard to control emotions. It isn’t the case of senior players like Pratik [Chaudhari] and [Harmanjot] Khabra letting the team down. They just expressed themselves in a way that seemed fit at the moment. It’s just that they went for a tackle and maybe they were slightly over aggressive and in the end the set-pieces were goals.
On Xisco being used as a substitute…
Xisco [Hernandez] was still not fit enough to start and we needed more time with him. In the beginning, we started with [Kristian] Opseth up front because Cleiton [Silva] was injured. I needed experience on the left and that’s why I had Sunil [Chhetri] there, to keep an eye on Manvir [Singh], and I believe that helped the team.
On Bheke’s injury…
The injury to Rahul [Bheke] looks serious, though we haven’t had the full diagnosis yet. We’re going to wait for a report from the medical staff, after which we will be in a better position to sit down and think about our options.
On the playoff chances…
A lot depends on the other games for us now and the only thing that we can do is to stay positive and try to play good football in the games that we have left. The boys need a rest because there have been games coming in thick and fast, but after that, we will start thinking about the Mumbai City game.
