We need to be more clinical in front of goal, says Hugo Boumous

Published at :October 30, 2022 at 6:22 PM

Modified at :December 13, 2023 at 1:01 PM

(Courtesy : ISL Media)

The midfielder scored his first Kolkata Derby goal.

Hugo Boumous became the hero for one part of Kolkata on Saturday. He scored a vital goal to power ATK Mohun Bagan’s 2-0 win over East Bengal and was named as the Man of the Match. Apart from the goal, Boumous also created 6 goal-scoring chances and was unlucky not to be involved in more goals.

After the heroic win, the French midfielder accompanied his manager Juan Ferrando to the post-match press conference.

Thoughts on fortunate goal

When asked if he practices long-distance shots in training after his effort went in thanks to a Kamaljit Singh error, the midfielder said: “I saw that there was nobody in front of me and I was free, so I took my chance and took the shot to bounce in front of goal and the keeper didn’t manage to save it. I wanted to take more shots in the game and I feel if did stuff like this, I could score more.”

How can ATKMB solve their finishing problems?

Hugo Boumous also addressed his side’s finishing problem this season, detailing: “Yeah the finishing needs improvement. We need to improve on many things. We have quality and everyone in India knows that. The foreign and Indian players play for the national team. We have to work every day, that is the thing about professional football. To be at the highest level, you have to improve every day.

He added, “You can’t take any game for granted, even if you play against the bottom side. You have to play your best. We’ve managed to produce good possession football under the coach. We create many chances, but sometimes we need to be more clinical in front of the goal.

“Improve the shooting, the last passes – we create many chances and we play a good style of football – but if we don’t manage to score that becomes useless. Even today we created many chances, we could’ve scored more goals, and I don’t think anything should’ve happened,” Boumous stated.

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Difference in playing with Petratos as compared to Krishna and Williams

Boumous was also asked about how different he feels playing with Dimitri Petratos, as compared to how he felt playing with Roy Krishna and David Wiliams last season. He said: “Roy and Williams have a completely different profile to that of Dimtri. Petratos has a similar profile to David. Roy is one to fight for each ball, but I can combine more with Dimitri. He has a lot of talent and It's great to play with that kind of a player. I enjoy playing with the likes of Dimitri, Manvir, Joni and those players.”

Thoughts on Mumbai City match-up

ATKMB’s next match is against Mumbai City, the former team of the midfielder. When asked about if this performance gives him an added motivation for that game, Boumous said: “Of course. We won the league in the season I was there. For me, it’ll be just like any other game. I’ll go on the pitch, enjoy myself and get the three points for my team. ATKMB is a winning team and we want to win every game and win the league. It’s easy to say this, but we must work very hard and together and make no mistakes.”

Reason for celebrating with fans after goal

Finally, he addressed his celebrations after the goal – when he interacted with the fans in the stands. Hugo Boumous stated: “Amazing to score in front of 62,000 people. It’s amazing to play here and thanks to the fans for their support here in Kolkata. I was happy for the team, because it was the first goal and it’s important to contribute to the success of the team.

“It’s not important for me to score, but to work for the team and help the team achieve success. My goal isn’t to score 50 goals and win the Golden Boot. I want to play collective football and give joy to the fans,” he added.