Carles Cuadrat: One totally unnecessary mistake in build up cost us today

Carles Cuadrat didn’t criticize his foreigners but wants them to show leadership qualities.

East Bengal were held to a 1-1 draw by Chennaiyin FC in their Indian Super League (ISL) clash on Saturday, November 25. The Red & Gold Brigade actually took a lead through an Ayush Adhikari own goal in the first half, but a late equalizer from Ninthoi Meetei forced both teams to share a point each.

Thoughts on the result

Carles Cuadrat refuted claims that Chennaiyin FC were the better team in the game. He said: “I don’t think Chennaiyin were the better side today. Football is a very complex sport, lot of small games happening at the same time, and there are a lot of things that you prepare as a coach. I think the match plan was going great for us, we got the lead with what we were working in trainings and with the space we could reach the opponent. We came close to making it 0-2 for us and that could’ve killed the game.

“We had a lot of options in the space, but it was necessary to nail the final pass. But we didn’t do it in the right way so we missed some very promising goal approaches. It’s normal at that moment to be controlling the result with five defenders and two midfielders. We were not suffering a lot in defense and could kill them in counterattack with some better decissions. They had more possession, but we controlled the actions well,” he added.

East Bengal must learn from this result

The Spaniard believes that his side can learn from this result. He stated: “We have five points from five games, but we deserve more with the way we’ve been playing. The team has to learn from this result again, because at the end it was an unfortunate mistake that resulted in the draw. This is a clear message for us; everything we have won this season has cost a lot of effort, a lot of work behind the scenes. Players have to understand that drop points the way we are doing have to change. Mental game is there for them now. I will keep fighting to make them mentally stronger.”

“We know that there have been a negative story in the last seasons at the club, and that might be hovering over the minds of some players, but they have to go out of that and just play the game and no commit unnecessary mistakes. Otherwise youngers will get that responsibility. I put in Vishnu who is 21 and created the first goal. I give opportunities to the players working well in training. The tactics were there to get the three points today, but I must congratulate Chennaiyin because they tried their best to draw and we were not clinical enough to score our second goal and open a gap in the score or. I think it was a nice match to watch for football supporters,” he added.

Did East Bengal play to get 1-0 win?

When asked if he had urged his team to protect their 1-0 lead and go for a slender win at half-time, Cuadrat stated:  “We tried to score the second goal. We had a lot of space and we had Mandar clear shot. We had Cleiton in some good positions in the box. Mahesh with his great technique and Nanda to take advantage of his speed. We were protected behind and wanted to take advantage of the space and kill the game. We know that in any football game, a one goal lead is not that strong. Unfortunately, one totally unnecessary mistake in build up cost us today.”

East Bengal foreign players need to improve

Carles Cuadrat believes that his foreign core needs to step up their performance going forward, after Pardo’s poor error allowed the hosts to equalize. He explained: “We have four games in front of us before AFC Asian Cup brings a pause to the league. We will study the situation and see. I trust in my players, we are playing one kind of system in the Durand Cup and get results. Then we lost Jordan Elsey and replaced him with Hijazi, who is getting fit one step after a time. We tried to use three centre-backs today, but in the next game, we can change it again if we consider. I’m happy at how the team implemented the tactics, but we are not showing good management of the special moments of the game that give points.

“We have to learn from this and the foreigners also need to step up. The mistake of a foreigner player (Pardo), who was playing a wonderful game until that moment, cost us the goal today in the 85 minute. In the last match, the mistake of another foreigner in a crucial moment (Cleiton) cost us the opportunity to draw in the 85 minute. This is football, I’m not criticizing my foreigners, but they have to show they are leaders and we as a team have to grow up from their inputs in the pitch. I’m satisfied with the understanding of the match plans in every game, but we have to grow in the maturity in terms of game-management to get the points. Now we will play the next six points at home; it is the moment to build from that away draw an do the job without excuses,” he finished with.

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