ATK Mohun Bagan lost a golden opportunity to get closer to the summit but they lost that chance with a 1-1 draw against Odisha FC in the Indian Super League. Redeem Tlang handed the Kalinga Warriors an early lead whereas Joni Kauko restored parity for the Mariners from the spot.
Both the teams failed to make the best use of the chances they got. It is something that has disappointed ATK Mohun Bagan head coach Juan Ferrando who expected three points out of this fixture. “Yes, it’s disappointing. Our target is to get three points in every game and that is my focus,” the Spaniard replied at the post-match press conference.
While the 1-1 draw takes a huge hit towards their ISL Shield aspirations. But Ferrando feels that it is important to fight till the last game. Speaking on winning the ISL Shield, Ferrando added, “That is my target and is our mentality, to keep fighting until the last moment. Let’s see what happens, but for us, it’s necessary to fight until the end.”
It has been a tough couple of weeks for the Mariners as they have suffered a lot of injury problems, waning form and inconsistent performances. Much of that has to be due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the bubble. So the Spanish tactician highlighted how having players fit and ready allows him to make substitutions to change the course of the game.
“It’s difficult when you have to do all the substitutions because of injuries. When players are ready and fit, you can make substitutions depending on the performance or the moment, if you want to change the plan.
“But, when you lose three subs for injuries, that is not dependent on us. It’s necessary to help them in that moment of the game. It’s not an excuse as it’s the same for all teams. This is because of hard quarantines, soft quarantines, no training and then come here play two games in three days – it’s normal,” he added.
Roy Krishna made it back to the field against Odisha FC and looked pretty good other than two unnecessary fouls which saw him get sent off late in the game. However, when asked about Krishna’s red card, Ferrando quickly diverted the topic as he emphasized thinking about their next clash against Bengaluru FC.
“I think it is important to take a breather. I’ll prepare for the Bengaluru game after tonight and then we’ll think about it. It’s not necessary to think about it right now, it’s necessary for us to keep calm and think about the next days,” concluded Juan Ferrando
