ATK Mohun Bagan brushed aside Sri Lanka’s Blue Star SC 5-0 in the AFC Cup Preliminary Round at the Salt Lake Stadium. Joni Kauko and Manvir Singh scored braces as David Williams also collected a goal in the one sided drubbing.
After the match, head coach Juan Ferrando highlighted how the first 20 minutes were a struggle for the Mariners as the visitors put some real pressure on them. They also struggled to find spaces to create chances. “To be honest, in the first period it was difficult for us to find the spaces, as they were good in the first 20 minutes. For us, it was important to control the transitions, as it was difficult in the first half for us. But, the supporters helped a lot in the difficult moments. The weather wasn’t so easy, but I’m happy for the work of the players.”
ATK Mohun Bagan played really well and Ferrando’s tactics and players selection worked like a charm. But even then the Spaniard was not completely happy as he feels that this roster can achieve a lot more things. He even admitted that he has the best squad and feels it is tough to get back up and running after a month’s break since the ISL.
“Like a coach, I’m never completely happy. I know the level of the players, in my point of view, I have the best squad. But, it’s normal. After one month since the last game against Hyderabad FC, it’s difficult to come back and start to play perfectly.
“I understand we had some moments, but I know this team has a lot of power and energy and can play faster in moments, work hard in transitions into defence,” the Spaniard adds.
Young custodian Arsh Shaikh started the match for ATK Mohun Bagan in place of Amrinder Singh. Although he did not feature much, Ferrando shared details about Amrinder Singh and revealed that the custodian was fully fit and comfortable to start so he decided to go without him as he doe snot want to risk a player’s well being.
Roy Krishna missed this game due to personal reasons and Ferrando is comfortable playing without him as he feels that every one of the players are looking ahead for opportunities and he shared how he has complete trust in David Wiliiams’ ability as a forward.
Lastly, the Spanish tactician shared how the match against Abahani Dhaka will be a tricky one as he focuses on pressing. He understands that it will be a much more difficult match than this one and breaking up their press can be a real challenge for the Mariners. “They are a compact team, they don’t play 3-4 players in attack and others in defence. We need to pay attention in pressing as we need to keep the ball. We must work hard to sustain the press and move the ball forward. It’s not so easy, but we need to work hard to win the next match,” Juan Ferrando concluded.
