Mohun Bagan Super Giant head coach Jose Molina was delighted after bagging all three points against derby rivals East Bengal FC at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati in the ongoing Indian Super League on Saturday.
Jamie Maclaren scored the decisive goal in the second minute of the game to bag the crucial win for his team. The Mariners had 53.5% possession and had four shots on target but could only convert one of them.
“Yes (it is a fair result). We missed our chances but to get better results you have to score goals. We were not good enough to score more goals. We had the chances but finally you have to put the ball inside, right, touching the net. We did it. We are happy because we got three points. Three important points. We won over our rivals, we won the derby. We would have been maybe happier if we scored more goals because we had the chances. At the end, not our day but the important thing is the three points. Three more points on the table. Closer to the main goal, that is to win the Shield,” Jose Molina said in the post-match press conference.
Meanwhile, East Bengal FC’s Souvik Chakrabarti received a second yellow card for a bad foul in the 64th minute but Oscar Bruzon’s team was able to keep their rivals at bay.
“We started to play worse when East Bengal FC received a red card. With one more player, our level decreased and we did not play clearly. Even despite that we had some counterattacks, some good actions where we could score more goals but no good decision in the final third.. In the last minutes, we suffered a little bit because they moved the ball, put the ball (in the box), put crosses and they sent balls to the box. But (our) two centre-backs, the full-backs, the goalkeeper were great. To be honest, they didn’t have a great opportunity to score a goal and draw the match. We controlled it.. I’m happy with the team’s performance. Maybe not so happy with the last minutes. But I think we did a great job to win another derby. Three more points and opening up (the gap) with the rest of the teams.”
The high-octane clash disappointedly didn’t draw a huge crowd in Guwahati, and Molina acknowledged they missed their fans in the stadium.
“We missed our fans in the stands. The atmosphere in the first derby in Kolkata was amazing. It was great. The impact of that atmosphere on the players was huge. It’s not the same to play in an empty stadium with little support. My players, of course, and East Bengal FC players too, tried to win, and I told the players before the match: ‘Not too many supporters in the stands, but a lot of people in Kolkata are pushing us up and supporting us. We have to win for them.’ And finally, we did our job.”
“I can tell our fans, we missed them. We would have liked to play in front of them. We fought for them, and I hope they can enjoy the victory. I’m waiting for them for the next match,” Molina added.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant will next take on Jamshedpur FC at the JRD Tata Sports Complex on Friday.
