We've to prepare new defensive setup: Carles Cuadrat

Cleiton Silva didn't start for East Bengal FC

East Bengal FC were locked in a 0-0 stalemate against Jamshedpur FC at the Salt Lake Stadium on Monday in the ISL 2023-24. Both sides started and ended the match level on score but the home side was slightly ahead in terms of statistics. The Carles Cuadrat-led outfit had 56% possession.

Though Scott Cooper’s side had as many shots as them (10) three of those were on target while for the Red Miners, only one was accurate. Javier Siverio went close on two occasions with one of them being a potential match-winner. However, come full-time the only incident of note was Emil Benny’s comical dismissal following a simulation of foul and then the reversal of that decision. As two teams went home with a point each, here’s what the East Bengal head coach had to tell the media in the post-match press conference: 

On not getting the three points

East Bengal played some visually pleasing football with flowing moves but faltered in the final third, partly due to their own mistakes and partly due to Rehenesh’s heroics. When asked about whether it was a satisfying result and what the area of improvement could be, Carles Cuadrat replied :

“Yeah of course, we are at the start of the season and there are a lot of things to develop. But I’m quite satisfied with the energy that the team has put in on the pitch. We have created some really good chances (tonight). When you score the first goal, everything changes and the other team opens up to try and draw one back. It’s easier to initiate counter-attacks in that case. So I think we did whatever we could to get all three points.

"There were some good areas; we created spaces and allowed players to make runs. In the end, we also have to understand that there is another team that also has a plan and equally wants to get a result. In general, I’m satisfied. We have to improvise the defense because we miss Jordan (Elsey), and Nunga (Lalchhunnunga). So we have to prepare a new defensive setup, unlike the one we have been playing in the Durand Cup. So I’m quite satisfied with the fact that we got a clean sheet and one point for ourselves. We were fighting for all three points but sometimes that doesn’t happen. I think the players have to be positive for the next match.”

On Siverio missing his chances 

The usually clinical Spanish striker blanked in front of goal and couldn’t apply the finishing touch to some great chances against a rigid Jamshedpur side. Discussing how he went about helping Elsey morph into his surroundings in the league and about replacing him, the manager mentioned:

“(Laughs)You can ask my players. We do a lot of finishing drills in training. But these things happen in football. You have to be there and you have to be in that situation. Everything happens so fast and sometimes it's just a matter of centimeters or millimeters that prevent you from scoring. I think that we have a very clear plan. We did well and sometimes it was only the last pass we missed so I think there are a lot of positives that we can build on, from this moment.”  

On Cleiton Silva not starting

The torchbearers’ joint league and club top scorer from last season was left out of the starting eleven and only came on after an hour. Talking about the thought process behind his exclusion,  the manager said:

“Yeah, he’s getting ready. As you know, he arrived late and could only participate for a few minutes in the Durand Cup games. So if you see, most of the players have already amassed around 70 minutes of action whereas he only has 30. It means that it takes time to get fit. We have been allowing him time to get as many minutes as he can and he’s working well. He will be ready for the team. Cleiton (Silva) is a very important player for us and when we feel he’s ready to start you’ll see him starting.”

On the team looking exhausted for the final twenty minutes

Despite making changes, Cuadrat’s side looked worn down and lacking in energy during the closing stages of the game. Explaining the same, the mentor noted:

“(Laughs) Yeah but I think we still looked less tired compared to Jamshedpur. I mean it’s just the starting of the season so all the teams need a few more kilometers in their legs to be really really fit. We saw two teams who were very tired indeed but we were the ones going for the three points. The other one was just trying to lose time and go for the counter-attack. That was their plan; to score on the counterattack. You can always score from such plays but we were the ones taking the initiative and the risk, and trying to create chances till the very end. We got three shots on goal and they created only one I think. So we were the ones with more clear chances.”