"We could have won the match" - Mario Rivera after SC East Bengal's loss against local rivals ATK Mohun Bagan
SC East Bengal were handed a disappointing 3-1 defeat by ATK Mohun Bagan in the Indian Super League (ISL) on Saturday at the PJN Stadium, Goa. Head coach Mario Rivera, however, said that although there was disappointment, he was proud of the players.
SC East Bengal scored early in the second half against ATK Mohun Bagan. But substitute Kiyan Nassiri sank SC East Bengal hearts when he bagged a 30-minute hat-trick in the second half.
Speaking about the game, Mario Rivera said:
"Yeah always, when you lose there is a little disappointment but we have to be proud of our players, they fight a lot and we could have won the match, we played how we wanted but, we had a very bad situation with the injury in the first half we missed the only option to turn for defense and it was exploited."
An intense #KolkataDerby but these are the moments which makes football special! ⚽❤️
#ATKMBSCEB #HeroISL #LetsFootball | @atkmohunbaganfc @sc_eastbengal @JuanFerrandoF @adilahmedkhan08 https://t.co/kB63ZaB0kS
The Spaniard was asked if SC East Bengal had shut shop after taking the lead against ATK Mohun Bagan, but Rivera said:
"Yeah we wanted to, of course, we wanted to keep the result but they scored, they drove very fast and we didn't have time to adjust and if we got some time between our first goal and the equalizer, it would have been a very different match."
After the loss, SC East Bengal have nine points from 14 matches. They have been glued to the bottom spot for some time now. Were there any positives from the game? Mario Rivera opined:
"The positives are the attitude and the fight of our players. They followed the plan that we wanted. We had bad luck with the injury in the first half but we have to be proud of our match and we are ready to go for the next match and try to win."
"I'm happy for Kiyan Nassiri because he's working hard in training" - ATK Mohun Bagan boss lauds the youngster's performance against SC East Bengal
Meanwhile, ATK Mohun Bagan coach Juan Ferrando was visibly the happier of the two coaches after the game. He laud 21-year-old Kiyan who single-handedly changed the tie around. Asked what made him sub the youngster on, Ferrando said:
"I know the history. I'm happy for Kiyan because he's working hard in the training. He's improving a lot in training sessions and today when the game was in a very difficult moment, we decided to change the system. We use Kiyan like number nine. And of course, I'm very happy about his success in his role because he's a young player. When a young player has amazing games, I'm very happy."
points for @atkmohunbaganfc! 
Super-sub @Kiyannassiri was unstoppable in the #KolkataDerby, as he scored a sublime hat-trick to bag the 3️⃣ points for @atkmohunbaganfc! 🔥
#ATKMBSCEB #HeroISL #LetsFootball https://t.co/gkrjq5XknQ
The Mariners have a 100% record in the ISL against their local rival. Who did Ferrando dedicate the latest victory to? He said:
"Of course, 100% the fans. In the last couple of days a lot of our fans, our supporters write a lot of messages about this important game. I know the feelings, I know the emotions. I'm happy for them because this night they are happy with these three points."
So far this season, ATK Mohun Bagan have failed to hit the heights of their past performances. After two consecutive draws, the Mariners have finally returned to winning ways. Asked if the head coach was happy after returning to the top four, Juan Ferrando said:
"Today is the happy birthday of our owner. And at this moment, I think he's happy. And also for me, it's important because in front of us we have nine games, Mumbai and Hyderabad are amazing. We have important games and I think it's very important for the confidence of the players."