"We had too much pressure from supporters": Mohun Bagan's Habas after 4-3 win over Kerala
Mar 14, 2024
Kochi (Kerala) [India], March 14 : Mohun Bagan Super Giant head coach Antonio Habas said that they faced too much pressure from the home crowd during their match against Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League (ISL) in Kochi.
While speaking at the post-match press conference, Habas said that he would have preferred a 4-0 win over the Tuskers without conceding any goals. He further added three points are more important.
"Today, no. We knew that it was a difficult match. We had too much pressure from the supporters, too much pressure from the match because we played against East Bengal FC three days ago and it was a very intense match in the derby. And now travel.. Many things. In the end, I would have preferred to win 4-0 but in 4-3, we got the three points which is more important," Habas was quoted by ISL's official website as saying.
He showered praise on Armando Sadiku and said that it was a "very good" performance from him. The head coach added that he was very happy with Dimitri Petratos, Sadiku and Jason Cummings.
"(Sadiku's performance was) very good. We had the opportunity to (create and) have the chances. The good thing is that we have three strikers with the possibility to score goals. This is very important for our team because (it helps if) we have one player injured. A sending off and you have the opportunity to play with the other two. I'm very happy with Dimi(tri Petratos), Sadiku and Jason (Cummings)," he added.
Recapping the match, the Blasters faced a 4-3 loss against the Kolkata-based side. But it could have been a comeback story in Kochi. In the first half, it was a box-to-box battle between both sides. Mohun Bagan's Armando Sadiku made the first breakthrough of the game during the opening minutes of the game.
The hosts made a comeback in the game with an equaliser at the 54th-minute mark after a clever move in the box by Vibin Mohanan.
Later in the game, Sadiku scored his brace in the 60th minute during a set piece, followed by Dimitrios Diamantakos's left-footed shot from the centre of the box to make it 2-2. Deepak Tangri scored from a beautiful free header during another set piece from a Dimitri Petratos corner.
The fourth goal for Mohun Bagan came in the seventh minute of the added time from the left foot of Jason Cummings. Later, after conceding four goals, Diamantakos completed his brace in the last minute of injury time to make the scoreline 4-3.
