Cuadrat happy with performance, Reddy rues late goal

Published at :December 1, 2018 at 12:52 PM

Modified at :December 1, 2018 at 12:52 PM

The Blues edged the Stallions as Rahul Bheke scored at both ends to redeem himself.

Bengaluru FC left it late to beat FC Pune City 2-1 and extended their lead at the top of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2018-19 table to five points. The Blues, who are still unbeaten this season, took the lead through a sensational goal by Udanta Singh, but an own goal from Rahul Bheke looked to have earned the visitors a valuable point. However, the right-back redeemed himself late in the match as he applied the finishing touch to grab the winner for Bengaluru.

Bengaluru head coach Carles Cuadrat cut a happy figure at the post-match press conference. The Blues dominated the match but had to wait till the 88th minute for the winner to come. Asked if he was concerned with his team's inability to convert the many chances they created into goals, the Spaniard said, "No, I’m happy that we created that many chances. When the ball is hitting the posts, you’re doing a very good job. It’s a question of inches. No problem with that.

The boys had been doing the right work because it was a very difficult game when the other team is trying to defend with a lot of people together. We try to play in the wings and we create chances. Today there were not a lot of goals but maybe with the same chances again, we can score four-five goals. You never know.”

Midfielder Dimas Delgado was moved further forward late in the match by Cuadrat and it appeared to make a real difference for Bengaluru. Cuadrat hailed the increasing influence of the Spaniard in his team and stated, "He is a very important player and we can see in every game. So, we are happy to have him in the team. You never know. We lost him in the last final and we lost the game. So, maybe there is a relation. I’m very happy with his work."

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Pune slowed down the match in the second-half and defended in numbers. The Stallions' interim coach Pradyum Reddy, however, dismissed suggestions that his team were playing for a draw and said, "We weren’t playing for a draw. In the first-half, we played pretty well and we deserved to score a goal. But we also deserved to concede. At half-time, 1-1 was a fair reflection of the match. We came out in the second-half with the mindset to try and control the tempo of the game and keep it as close as possible towards the latter stage and then try to win it."

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"We felt if we went all out, it would leave a lot of space which Bengaluru are very good at exploiting. The plan was not necessarily to play for a draw, but was to play for a late winner," he added.

Reddy concluded his conference by stating that mistakes by players cost Pune the match. "I’m never ever going to come and say I’m happy that we lost a game. Whenever you concede late goals, you’re obviously not happy. We knew what we needed to do against Bengaluru in terms of defensive work. When players continue to make mistakes again and again, of course, you’re not happy," he said.