"It's important to be still in the (top-four) race" - Bengaluru FC head coach after win against Odisha FC
Bengaluru FC rallied to a 2-1 comeback victory over top-four contender Odisha FC in the Indian Super League at the Athletic Stadium on Monday.
Nandhakumar Sekar gave Odisha FC an early lead. But Bengaluru FC equalized through Danish Farooq and in the second-half, Cleiton Silva tucked home the winning penalty.
@OdishaFC after putting up a brilliant performance 🗣 "We conceded first, but we didn't give up and just fought back."
Danish Farooq sheds light on @bengalurufc's win 🆚 @OdishaFC after putting up a brilliant performance 🗣
#BFCOFC #HeroISL #LetsFootball #BengaluruFC #DanishFarooq https://t.co/WN5uuJbCqb
With the win, Bengaluru FC are within a point of fourth-placed Kerala Blasters FC in the ISL points table. However, head coach Marco Pezzaiuoli urged the players not to get ahead of themselves and focus on giving their best. After the match, he said:
"We talked before that we had four games, we lost one, now we won one. It's important to be still in the race. I told the players the importance for us to look in the mirror."
He added:
"When you give your best and we win, it is good when you look in the mirror. If we don't give our best, we cannot be happy at the end of the season. Maybe we reach the top four, maybe not, but we need to look in the mirror and say, 'Okay, we did our best in the season'."
However, Pezzaiuoli didn't hold back while lauding his side for their effort on the night. The German head coach opened up about his take on the game. He said:
"Sometimes we were unlucky and that you see after the season but I think let's enjoy the win today. 2-1, great goals, great penalty situation for Udanta, winning the ball in a pressing situation. The pressing was great."
The Bengaluru FC coach added:
"In the second half we won the ball out of a pressing situation and also I think, normally the foul on Udanta must be a red card. It was really clear he was not going on the ball. It's not the only foul. This was more than a foul; it was killing the legs. And that was not really nice. And I think there must be a different decision from the referee."
Check out the ISL clean sheets here.
"If you don't convert your attempts, then you pay for it" - Kino Garcia after Odisha FC squanders chances against Bengaluru FC
Meanwhile, after the loss, Odisha FC's top-four hopes realistically look like a far-fetched dream. They sit in seventh place, five points off fourth place, having played two more games. Head coach Kino Garcia was visibly dejected and expressed his concerns surrounding the ISL team's inability to bury chances.
A stunning fingertip save! 😍
@LaraSharma31 ensured @bengalurufc held onto their lead 🆚 Odisha FC! 🧤⚡
#BFCOFC #HeroISL #LetsFootball #BengaluruFC #LaraSharma #ISLMoments https://t.co/glC5fxD59X
The Spaniard said:
"If you see all the chances we had and we couldn't score. In the second half, they had one chance which was saved by Kamaljit and the penalty. Nothing more. We changed to a back three to come back and try and beat them and I think that we deserved something more but it's football and if you don't convert your attempts then you pay for it."
However, Garcia was not ready to let the mood in the camp go down. He affirmed that Odisha FC will try to do their best in the upcoming games and finish the season on a high.