"The attitude of the team is right" - Chennaiyin FC coach Thomas Brdaric praises his his side after draw against Bengaluru FC | ISL 2022-23
Chennaiyin FC head coach Thomas Brdaric believes his team are on the right path after their 1-1 draw with Bengaluru FC in their second match of the 2022-23 ISL season.
The Marina Machans went behind inside the opening five minutes of their first home game of the season. Roy Krishna pounced on a defensive lapse to put the Blues ahead with a guided header.
However, Brdaric's side bounced back brilliantly, with plenty of help from a vociferous Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. They found the equalizer in the second half through new signing Prasanth Karuthadathkuni.
At the post-match press conference, Brdaric was asked by Sportskeeda about the influence of the fans on the game. He responded:
"I feel [the effect of] the fans from the outside, it was very good. I like it and let's continue with that. I hope that everybody gets affected by this game and this atmosphere and next week, against Goa, I hope we get more fans in the stadium."
The Chennaiyin boss added, however, stated that his team needed to be more effective while adding that he believed they were on the right path:
"We want to pay back everything [for the fans] and today, they pushed us very well. In football, it's not only the team that plays better or creates more chances [that wins]. We have to be more effective and we will work on that. The attitude of the team is right and we are humble all the time, hardworking."
The Marina Machans dominated much of the second half as well. However, they had to settle for a point after a nervy ending following Debjit Majumder's red card.
With Chennaiyin making four substitutions in three individual cycles prior to Majumder's dismissal, they couldn't bring on backup custodian Devansh Dabas. Instead, centre-back Vafa Hakhamaneshi went in goal.
When questioned as to why the team chose the Iranian defender to take over the gloves, Brdaric responded:
"We can't change because we closed our substitutes and Devansh was not able to come into the game. We had to decide very quickly [and we had] two options: Fallou [Diagne] or Vafa.
"Vafa did a good job in the last few minutes and saved some good shots. In the end, we have one point and let's carry on."
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Hakhamaneshi spent nearly 10 minutes in goal, including injury time. He had only one save to make from a cross and helped his side hang on for the result.
"He has improved very fast" - Chennaiyin FC boss Thomas Brdaric praises Prasanth Karuthadathkuni
Prasanth Karuthadathkuni endured a below-par debut for Chennaiyin during their 2-1 win against ATK Mohun Bagan earlier this week. Having started the game, the former Kerala Blasters forward was substituted at half-time.
However, he responded brilliantly against Bengaluru FC and scored his side's goal with a superb slide-roll finish past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
Brdaric was pleased with Karuthadathkuni's display but reiterated that the forward still has areas to improve on. He said:
"He's a pretty good guy with good experience. As you saw today, he can help us with his finishing. He can improve in some topics, we spoke about it and he has improved very fast and has a very good understanding and made fast decisions after the first game. He scored the goal and now he has to continue."
𝘾𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡🔥
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Chennaiyin's next contest will once again be at the Marina Arena. They will take on FC Goa on October 21.