ATK Mohun Bagan bowed out of the AFC Cup after losing to Malaysian outfit Kuala Lumpur City in the Inter Zonal Semifinals. The Mariners lost 3-1 despite being the more dominant team in terms of possession and chance creation. But once again they struggled to convert their chances. The Mariners never looked like scoring goals, they did create some chances but the Kuala Lumpur City defenders and goalkeeper thwarted everything away until substitute Fardin Ali Molla scored the equalizer after Paulo Josue handed the visitors the lead. But later they conceded two more goals to end it on a very somber note for the home fans.
ATK Mohun Bagan coach Juan Ferrando was distraught with the missed opportunities and the overall result. The Spaniard reflected on the result and shared how the opponents were keeping a low block and allowed them to keep the ball. He admitted that they struggled to create spaces in that congested final third and that led to the result. “In the match, Kuala Lumpur City were always too close to their box and we had to try to find the spaces. We conceded three goals thanks to three mistakes. No more to say about it. We tried to keep the ball, we tried to find spaces but we had no success in that,’ Ferrando stated.
He was heavily criticized by the fans for not fielding Hugo Boumous or Dimitros Petratos but he reasoned how according to AFC CUp rules he had only four options and therefore he went with the best four according to him. He felt the team needed more cover in midfield and hence he played Joni Kauko and Carl McHugh leaving behind his two attacking options.
He also shared how Petratos has been feeling under the weather a little since landing in Kolkata so thinking about the season ahead Ferrando decided to start with Chris Hamill than the Australian forward. “Dimitri showed in the last three days that he had problems working with the team. It was a technical decision to not play him. Carl Was working well as a no.6 and Joni played well. I thought Joni Kauiko was perfect today. We played Pogba and Hamill because they trained well. We need to protect the midfielders that is why Carl and Kauko played,” Ferrando added.
Lastly he shared his concerns of not getting enough goals from his strikers. He highlighted how only one team played attacking football but once again the problem of lack of a proper finisher worked against them. “We need the ball because we need to create space. Today only one team tried to play attacking football and the other waited for their opportunities. Sometimes we need to boss the game in the field and be more clinical in attack,” he added.
