Portugal delighted with win, Roca scrutinizes the pitch

Lallianzuala Chhangte and Guyon Fernandez struck in the second half to end their eight-match winless streak and secure their second win of the season.

Delhi Dynamos FC surprised Bengaluru FC after pulling off a 2 – 0 victory over the Blues at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi on Sunday.

Post-match, Delhi’s head coach Miguel Angel Portugal addressed the media. He started off by expressing his joy at the result. “I am very happy,” the Spaniard shared. Against Mumbai and Chennai also, we played very well and lost. But today, we played well and won. I am very happy for the players. All week we have been working and today we won,” he shared.

The 62-year-old also explained why he paired Kalu Uche and Chhangte upfront. “Kalu is experienced and Chhangte is younger,” Portugal stated. “So, it’s a good combination. It’s a good idea.”

Presently lying at the bottom of the points table with seven points, mathematically it is still possible for Delhi to make the playoffs, but Portugal was clear as to where his focus lies. “Now I am not thinking about the possibility of making the playoffs,” he revealed. “Now, I only tell my players to take it one match at a time.”

The Spaniard also mentioned the remedy for missed opportunities. “The only thing I know is training,” he said. “If you miss opportunities, you must work harder in training. This is the only solution I know.”

Before wrapping up, he picked out and lauded midfielder Vinit Rai’s performance. “For me, Vinit is in a good condition for the balance of the team. That’s why he is mainly there. He played well. Maybe it’s possible for him to play forward. He is very young,” Portugal concluded.

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Albert Roca, head coach of Bengaluru, addressed the media post-match and shared his views. The Spaniard refused to tag Delhi as pushovers, admitting that his team expected a tough encounter against the Lions. “We didn’t underestimate Delhi for sure,” Roca stated. “We were aware how difficult it could be to win today. But that’s football. They have fought. Some of our players were not too comfortable on the pitch. We have to be much better going forward.”

The capital city is experiencing a very chilly winter, but Roca did not blame the weather for having an effect on the players. “I cannot complain about the weather when my team is losing,” the 55-year-old said. “This is a circumstance that has not changed too much. We were not comfortable because the other team was doing well. I think Delhi’s performance has improved compared to the first part of the season. Today it was not possible to win.”

The schedule ahead is hectic for the Blues, given that they have to play in other competitions as well, regarding which Roca said, “It is another circumstance we cannot complain about either. It is like this and everybody is playing sometime after three days or four days or seven days. So, it depends. We are also playing in another competition; the AFC Cup. It is in the middle of the season. So, I have to make sure the players are ready for all the games and use all of my squad. I don’t want to have problems with injuries.”

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Bengaluru’s head coach also explained why he did not use Udanta Singh but opted for Alwyn George instead while using his substitution. “Udanta had some problems since the last two games,” Roca revealed. “He was on the bench, but he was not comfortable. Even our doctor made an examination and he saw that Udanta was not mentally prepared. And Alwyn is also a player who plays on the right.”

Before concluding, Roca shared his thoughts regarding the red card shown to Subhasish Bose. “I thought it was a red card for their (Delhi’s) striker!” the Spaniard commented. “I could not see any action from my player. I saw on TV and asked Subhasish as to what happened, and he said he did not touch the player. It is a shame. Maybe the referee was far off from the action, and could not see well. But everything was wrong for us in that game.”