Clifford Miranda: We always wanted to go for win despite playing under extreme climatic conditions

This was the Clifford Miranda's first game at Odisha FC as the head coach.

Odisha FC and East Bengal played their first ever draw in seven encounters across all tournaments. With several guilt-etched golden opportunities missed by players from both sides, we caught up with coach Clifford Miranda on his opinions about the game.

After losing out Sahil in the first half due to a stretched ligament, Odisha looked to be on the back foot shortly after which Mobashir Rahman of East Bengal scored the opening goal of the game. But Nandha came back strong in the second half, donning the captain's armband and with an assist from Diego brought Odisha level in the 78th minute of the match which gave Odisha a point at the end.

Fair result as per Clifford Miranda

"In the context of both the halves of the game, a point was a fair result. Even though we dominated the first half, we could not score and even though the defence did its part, we conceded a goal just with a single mistake. But this is football. There's a chance you can concede a goal out of nothing, so we'll take a point."

Also Read:

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Conditions were not conducive

Coach Clifford Miranda lauded his team's efforts for putting up a solid show despite adverse playing conditions in Manjeri. "There were chances in the second half but we always wanted to go for a win despite playing under extreme climatic conditions. We like to play intensive football whenever we're on the ball."

Seeping midfield not a major concern

Clifford Miranda didn't show major concerns over his inaccurate midfield and backed up his players for going for the kill and justified that lapses in defence while building up the attack is something he can endure.

"The defence was really good in the first half. The only reason we were stretched in the second half was because we were chasing the game and going for a result."

"We had most of the possession but only because balls were lost in the midfield while building up an attacking play, that's the only reason our defence was stretched. Moving the ball from the middle to the attacking third and converting balls in the box from passes and through balls is something that we'll work on," he concluded.