Albert Roca has no right to say that I should not be a coach-Fernandes

The Goan coach tasted his first victory in the league...

Churchill Brothers registered their first three points of the season as Alfred Fernandes' side secured a hard fought 2-1 win over reigning champions Bengaluru FC in the I-League match played at Tilak Maidan yesterday evening.

Though a Bengaluru player pushed the Churchill head coach Fernandes, Bengaluru coach Albert Roca tried to defend his player and blamed the Goan coach for all the mess. He also stated that Churchill do not deserve Fernandes to be their coach. But the Goan coach replied to his statement calmly in the post-match press conference.

“You can see the video footage. The incident happened in front of my technical area. He (John Johnson) came charging on me and I did not go on the field. They came and kicked and pushed me in my technical area. I think the coach (Roca) doesn’t know the real situation that happened. He has to first check the footage and then complain. He also has no right to say that I should not be a coach.”

"The moment Johnson hit my player Richard (Costa), he was the last man and for that he deserved a red card. I just yelled at him about the tackle and he started abusing me. So action should be taken against Johnson because he was the one who came in my technical area and knocked me behind my neck. I am not going to complain against the coach but we will complain about the player," the 50-year old further explained the situation.

He also thinks that foreign coaches should not take any Indian coach for granted and said, “These foreign coaches think they know everything in football, that why this allegation. They come here and work in our country. They should also respect Indian coaches. We know our duties and also know how to handle the situations. This is out of frustration.  Being a professional setup, they should be good losers. You don't win every time. We also lost a couple of matches, but we never assaulted anyone. Even in the AFC Cup Final, they assaulted the officials of the Air Force Club.”

This was the first win in the league for Churchill and their coach Fernandes dedicated this victory to the CEO, the patrons of the club and the players.

“We dedicate this victory to the CEO, the patrons of the club and the players. They were the ones who were the driving force behind us. We did not have enough preparation time but we assembled this team in four days. I am proud of my team for beating the defending champions Bengaluru FC who also represented the country in the Final of the AFC Cup," Fernandes said.

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He also did not forget to praise both goalscorers of the match as he said, “Chesterpaul Lyngdoh is doing very well for the club. Though he is not at his peak, he is still giving his best. About Anthony Wolfe, he came into this match from missing a penalty in the last match and it is not easy but today he did fantastic."