ISL 2018-19: Bengaluru FC v NorthEast United: Eelco Schattorie Takes a Dig at BFC players, Referee after Defeat
NorthEast United coach Eelco Schattorie was an unhappy man on Wednesday as he saw his team lose 1-2 to Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
NorthEast had most of the chances but Bengaluru FC found a winner in Chencho Gyeltshen 11 minutes after Federico Gallego's equaliser at the hour mark. Mislov Komorski scored an own goal in the 14th minute but NorthEast had plenty of chances to retaliate.
"Thing is, only one team played football and it was us," Schattorie said after the game. "Bengaluru FC had only one shot on goal. If you compare them to us, we outplayed them.
"I was really steaming with anger at the touchline because of the referee (CR Srikrishna). It's the third or fourth time we were denied a penalty by this referee.
"I am not sure whether the last decision was a penalty but it looked like it.
"Even without that, I am more angry about the pushing, pulling and slapping (from Bengaluru FC players).
"The guy with a yellow card kicks the ball away and doesn't get booked for that offence. But for our side, even a very small incident gets a yellow. Both sides should be treated equally. It's really unbelievable how certain decisions went."
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'No arguments with Carles Cuadrat' - Eelco
Schattorie was also seen arguing with his counterpart Carles Cuadrat at the touchline during the game. He, however, said there was nothing in it.
"There were no arguments with him," Schattorie said. "There was just one point where (NEUFC striker) Bartholomew Ogbeche was fouled and he asked for a penalty. He (Cuadrat) was shouting, claiming Bart had dived. I told him it's not a penalty but I also told him that this referee makes 2-3 bad decisions."
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'Bengaluru FC's second goal our fault' - Eelco
NorthEast United let slip an advantage when they had a chance to score in the winner in the 68th minute. Panagiotis Triadis had only the goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to beat but he shot right at him and BFC struck three minutes later.
Schattorie felt that his side should have got that goal.
"Before the game, there were a few points I told the players that were important," Schattorie added. "Bengaluru FC's set-piece organisation was No 1. I was shouting from the sideline that Udanta will start running and asked my players to follow the ball in the 14th minute. That goal went from our feet though.
"The second one, I blame ourselves. The goalkeeper (TP Rehenesh) plays ball to our midfielder (Rowllin Borges) and he should not have done that. They get a throw in and they score. We gave the ball away.
"But on 1-1, after the goal we scored, we had to change our tactics because Komorski got injured.
"The new signing comes in and he's one on one with the goalkeeper. If he had scored, we would have won the game. But that's football I guess."
NorthEast United next face Delhi Dynamos at home on Feb 7. A win there will help them get their campaign back on track.
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