Mohun Bagan deserved to win, concedes Dhaka Abahani coach Mario Lemos

It was a valiant display from the visiting team but the result did not go their way in the end.

Mohun Bagan scored a 3-1 win over Dhaka Abahani in their 2023 AFC Cup qualification fixture at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata, India on 22 August 2023. This allows the 2022-23 winners of the Indian Super League a place in the group stages of the continental tournament.

Dhaka Abahani started the game well and the score was 1-1 at halftime but Mohun Bagan SG took control of the proceedings in the second half to eventually record a 3-1 win. Jason Cummings, Milad Soleimani (own goal) and Armando Sadiku scored for the Mariners whereas Cornelius Stweart scored for the Bangladeshi outfit.

Mario Lemos, head coach of Dhaka Abahani, thought his team simply could not cope with the unrelenting pressure from MBSG as they looked for goals. He spoke about the positives from the game and more during the post-match press conference. Here are the excerpts: 

Turning point

Mario Lemos believes that Mohun Bagan SG deserved the victory in the end due to the exceptional quality of their squad and their performance in the second half, which was the turning point in the game. He said, “I think Mohun Bagan is a very good team, we tried blocking the central areas and being dangerous in transitions. We were able to do that in the first half, but couldn’t cope with the pressure in the second half. We would’ve lost the match if we parked the bus because Mohun Bagan would suffocate you. They had so much quality so they deserved to win the game.”

Lacked confidence

The tactician believes his team could have shown more confidence in possession of the ball. Defending too much in the second half invited the Mariners to throw more attacks which eventually turned the tides. He was quoted as saying, “We defended too much in the second half. We should’ve been more brave when we had the ball and showed more confidence. We didn’t have that.”

A class apart

In the end, Mohun Bagan SG had better players than their opponents and the pressure got the better of Mario Lemos’ men. “They are just too good and better than us. We could’ve pressed them, but it wouldn’t have worked. We got our chances because Mohun Bagan slowed down and stopped playing. If we kept playing at a high tempo, it would’ve been too tough for us,” he further added while praising the opposition.

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