East Bengal FC’s assistant Bino George admitted they are trying to learn from their mistakes after a 2-1 loss against Odisha FC in the 17th match week of the ongoing Indian Super League at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Thursday.

Vishnu Puthiya Valappill gave the lead to the Red and Gold Brigade as he scored in the opening minute of the game. However, the visitors could not sustain their lead as Diego Mauricio equalized in the 40th minute through a penalty.

Subsequently, Princeton Rebello scored the winning goal in the 61st minute for the Kalinga Warriors to help them secure all three points.

“We are in a process, and we are trying to learn from our mistakes. Vishnu PV and VP Suhair started the game from the beginning. Vishnu PV also scored the goal, which will give him confidence (going forward),” George said in the post-match press conference.

Meanwhile, East Bengal made plenty of changes to their playing XI for the match against the Juggernauts. Bino George said they wanted to give game time to players, who hadn’t received enough chances earlier in the season.

Speaking in this context, he said, “We played an exhausting game against Chennaiyin FC just three days ago. The coach wanted to give playing time to the other players who hadn’t received much playing time so far.”

Providing an update on Saul Crespo’s injury, George said, “Saul Crespo’s treatment is going on. Let’s see what happens. He is enjoying (himself) with the team.”

Despite the loss, East Bengal FC retained the eighth position in the points table with 18 points from 17 matches. George is confident of qualifying for the playoff stages.

He concluded, “There are very few matches left. We are on track. We are all focused and working on that.”

East Bengal FC will next face FC Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa on Wednesday.