ISL 2017: "Red card to Gurpreet the right decision," says Bengaluru FC coach Albert Roca
It was a sellout at the Fatorda Stadium on Thursday as a crowd of 18,600 fans watched a seven-goal thriller in which FC Goa, despite a spirited comeback from Bengaluru FC, came out on top.
''I didn't expect this kind of a game,'' said Bengaluru FC head coach Albert Roca after the match. He continued, ''I like the way my team tried and fought back but in the end, it was the mistakes in the beginning of the game that cost us and our performance wasn't enough to get a result, that is football and we must learn.''
The Spaniard regretted his side's casual approach in the first half that allowed FC Goa to score three goals. An incident of violent misconduct from Bengaluru goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu allowed FC Goa to go into the dressing room at halftime with a 3-1 lead and a one-man advantage.
He commented on the red card incident and was critical of Sandhu's decision-makiing, saying, ''It was the right decision. My goalkeeper (Sandhu) is young and has very good qualities but in an incident like that, he had to control himself. It's a shame that had to happen (referring to the red card).''
He was also asked about Indian captain and star striker Sunil Chhetri, who has scored over 50 goals for Bengaluru FC. The coach defended his striker, who was off-colour on the night by saying, ''He’s a really good player, it's an honour to have him on our team, but in the end, he’s also human. He gave us so much on the pitch today, it's just that he couldn't convert. He was fighting, but he can’t always be at the same level.''
Meanwhile, the Goan camp seemed ecstatic and rightly so. Two wins in three games, with their opening home and away games of the season both resulting in three points. ''I'm very happy with the result and was equally happy to play in front of the home fans today. The message was simple, go out there and get a result. We weren't expecting anything less than three points',' said a confident FC Goa head coach Sergio Lobera.
The Goa has now scored an impressive eight goals in three games. However, it is quite evident that FC Goa's defensive side of their game still needs a lot of work as they have conceded six goals in the same amount of time.
When asked about his team's shaky defence this ISL season, coach Lobera answered, '"It happened to us in Chennai and it happened to us tonight as well. On both occasions, we gave the teams a chance to get back into the game and this is something I won't particularly blame only on the defense but the whole team. We need to work hard and learn from our mistakes."
Despite the team losing focus for a while in the second half, Coach Lobera was impressed with the performance of his striker Ferran Corominas, who scored the first hattrick of the ISL 2017. However, he preferred to appreciate his team as a whole, he said, "We all know Coro is a good player, but I don’t like to talk about individuals because even when we lose, I don’t highlight individual mistakes. We win and lose as a team and I must commend my team for their performance today."
Coach Sergio Lobera ended the conference with heavy praise for the club, fans and the state of Goa saying, 'I'm very happy to come to this league. From the very first day, I felt an attachment to the club and their ambitions. Tonight at the stadium I felt something special. The club, the fans, they have all been amazing and I hope together we can achieve something special."