"Itâs not been easy for me. It was all of a sudden and we knew the relationship we had with Carles, it wasnât easy for us. For all the players, I had to really sit with everyone and talk to them. The players made me feel comfortable and showed me they are professional and here to play football.
"Three sleepless nights, itâs not been easy for me. I was confident that we can bounce back. Unlucky goal but the way we played today, we can get back. Even East Bengal, they have been on top, and they were also desperate for the victory. I am sure we will come back and give a positive performance in the next match.
âI want to rely on the youth now. The way Parag played in the first game, it was unlucky he got injured. Bhutia, Amay, they were nervous but it was their first game. I do want to give them more time. We still have 10 games to go and itâs not over for us.â
SC East Bengal claimed their second win of Hero ISL 2020-21 after edging Bengaluru FC 1-0 following an impressive performance in Fatorda. Matti Steinmannâs clever finish gave Robbie Fowlerâs side the lead in the first-half which they held on to with the help of some sturdy defending and Debjit Majumderâs outstanding heroics in goal. The result extends Bengaluru FCâs losing streak to an unprecedented four Hero ISL matches.
Highlights - Bengaluru FC 0-1 SC East Bengal - Match 52 | Hero ISL 2020-21
Bengaluru FC have now conceded in their last seven ISL games; they have also lost four consecutive games. Both these streaks are the longest in the clubâs history. Odd.
After last night game where SC East Bengal edged out Bengaluru FC 1-0 in a very close encounter. The victory means East Bengal have move up to 9th on the log, 2 points behind Bengaluru who have now dropped down to 6th because of last night loss, they could find themselve in 7th place after this week round of games, Here is what the table looks like after last night encounter.
Bengaluru interim coach Naushad Moosa has not given up hopes on qualifying for the playoffs of the 2020-21 Indian Super League.
The Blues lost their fourth match in a row on Saturday when they went down 0-1 to East Bengal. It was Moosaâs first game in charge of the team following the sacking of Carles Cuadrat earlier this week due to the teamâs poor run of form.
âThere are 30 points out there, I donât feel that it is not reachable. The boys have the confidence they can do it and I am sure we can get there,â said Moosa when he was asked about the teamâs chances of making it to the knockout stage this season.
âIf you see the way they played, not to forget we have 10 more games, there is nothing like âwe are under pressure and we have lost three games.â The boys were positive and I am really proud of them.â
East Bengal picked up their second win in three matches with a 1-0 result against Bengaluru.
After the match, Grant said, âWe only had a two-week pre-season and only had a whole bunch of players who no one knew so it was common sense that it was going to take time. If anyone thought it was all done, they were crazy. It is a work in progress. It has never been a problem for us (the league position).â
âBengaluru are one of the biggest teams in the league. In the early days, we have shown that we are fighters, we are scared of no one.â
Grant said that the jump to ISL from the I-League is a big process. âEast Bengal have never been in the ISL before, it is a massive jump. It is like taking a conference team in the UK and playing them in the Premier League. It takes time and is a work in progress.â
Jamshedpur head coach Owen Coyle considers Kerala Blasters as a âdangerous opponentâ ahead of their next Indian Super League (ISL) clash on Sunday.
The former Burnley manager feels that that Vicunaâs side has just been unlucky.
"If you look at Keralaâs games, they have been very unlucky. Even if you look at their last game, they obviously lost 4-2 but they could have easily scored five or six goals in the game. Against Mumbai [City, 2-0 loss] they put themselves two-nothing down because of individual errors but they could have again scored two or three goals.
âWhen teams have had disappointing results, they can be very dangerous. They have some wonderful players. I think it will be a difficult game and we have to make sure that we bring the same work ethic that we brought in the first nine games of the season,â he remarked.
Laszlo informed that Chennaiyin will be without their skipper Rafael Crivellaro against Odisha. This has forced him to draw up a different tactical plan after their frailties in midfield were exposed by Hyderabad without the Brazilian who has been ruled out for the season due to an injury.
âIn the previous game, we lost without Crivellaro. We didnât have a good pre-season. We had to replace some players. We had to begin practically anew. He is not just our captain but a very important player.â
âAlso, tactically I have to work differently. We played 4-2-3-1. I will not change that very much, but this is life and I donât want to make injury an excuse. We have to win the next game and get back to business. We have enough resources to replace Crivellaro. We have to talk about solutions and not about problems,â he explained.
Vicuna stated that he was not feeling any pressure with respect to his job security and is instead focussing on turning things around. He swore by his style of football but did admit that Blasters need to prune their mistakes on the field.
âIt is not a question of style. The teams are different, players are different. We are making changes, we are not playing the same style from the start. We are trying to improve and correct (the faults) with the team we have. I am sure that this team can get good results. It is not a question of being stubborn with the style.â
SC East Bengal player Jacques Maghoma registered a 100% passing accuracy in opposition half (17) against Bengaluru FC; he now has the best passing accuracy (85%) in this season for a player to have completed a minimum of 150 passes in the opposition half.
For any player who has attempted a minimum of 20 dribbles in the current campaign of the ISL, SC East Bengalâs Matti Steinmann (17 of 22) has the best dribbles success rate of 77.3%.
Chennaiyin FC will look to get their season up and running at last, when they take on Odisha FC in the early ISL kickoff on Sunday, at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim.
Csaba Laszloâs side has won just two games out of nine so far. The two-time ISL champions have been unable to build any sort of momentum in their campaign so far.
Chennaiyin lost to Hyderabad in their last game, who rode on a brace from Halicharan Narzary to win that game 4-1. They have also been hit by the news that Rafael Crivellaro will miss the rest of the season, after damaging ankle ligaments. The injury was caused by a tackle from Pronay Halder towards the end of the game against ATK Mohun Bagan a couple of weeks ago.
Odisha FC was finally able to open their win account in their last game. In a goal-fest in Bambolim, Odisha beat Kerala Blasters 4-2, thanks to a brace from Diego Mauricio.
They are still at the bottom of the ISL standings but have closed the gap between themselves and the rest of the league. Coach Stuart Baxter will look for his team to build on that win, and post a consistent run of results.
This is Jamshedpurâs first ISL game of the new calendar year. In their last game, 11 days ago, they beat Bengaluru FC 1-0, thanks to a late goal from Stephen Eze.
Jamshedpur are currently fifth in the ISL standings, with 13 points from nine games. A win in this game will see them leapfrog both FC Goa and Hyderabad FC and lift them to third place.
For Kerala Blasters, the season so far has been an all-too-familiar story. The Blasters are a spot above the bottom and have picked up just six points from nine games.
In their last game, they handed Odisha their first win of the current season, as they went down 4-2. The Blasters took the lead in that game through Jordan Murray but conceded four goals before Gary Hooper scored a late consolation.
The Kerala Blasters have never beaten Jamshedpur in six attempts so far. The Red Miners have beaten Kerala Blasters twice before and the two teams have played out four draws.
Chennaiyin FC have taken the most corners amongst all teams in the current campaign of the ISL (58), only one of their eight goals have been scored from a corner situation. Contrasting.
