'I'm forbidden to talk about referees...' - Carles Cuadrat after win over Chennaiyin FC

East Bengal boss Carles Cuadrat also spoke about the performance of the two winter window signings.

East Bengal went back to winning ways in the Indian Super League (ISL) with an important 1-0 win over Chennaiyin FC to get their playoff hopes back on track at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata. A solitary goal from Nandhakumar Sekar in the second half helped the Red & Gold Brigade get a narrow win that now takes them two points behind sixth-place Jamshedpur FC.

Cudrat reflects on the result

Carles Cuadrat was pleased with his side’s performance in the second half and when questioned on his side’s performances as compared to how they played in the Super Cup, he said: “We are the Super Cup champions and will play in Asia next season. We played very bad in the first half and were better in the second. In the first half, Chennaiyin deserved to be in front – but we made substitutions and it was our job to make things work. We can be satisfied with our second-half performance and the final result, which is important.”

Cuadrat reacts to booking

The mentor was unhappy to get booked in the match, which will force him to be in the stands for the Odisha FC game. He said: “I’m forbidden to talk about referees because otherwise they’ll fine the club. I got booked because I am a football professional and I know what is happening on the pitch. Chennaiyin are a top team and I have a lot of respect for Owen Coyle and their players; they are having a good season and were better than us in the first half.

“But I know, that they are the team with most fouls in the competition. They have a very good plan to stop counter-attacks and when they did so, they didn’t get yellow cards. I don’t know if I’ll be fined for these comments, but I have to stop here. I think referees should know better about what is going on in the football pitch. The ISL is the only competition in the world where you miss a game due to two yellow cards. We, the coaches, are foolish. Owen Coyle missed the last match like this too,” he added.

Have Vazquez and Brown met expectations?

Even though his winter signings Victor Vazquez and Felicio Brown didn’t score against Chennaiyin, Cuadrat praised the impact they have made so far and explained: “I’m very happy with all the players. We are playing a season where a lot of things are happening. We made key changes that transformed the squad a few weeks ago. It takes time to adapt, but they are doing everything I demand from them. This match was a great opportunity to see players we want to analyze, because now they have a chance to show if they can help us for the future.

“We are in a project now which will be for two years and it’s true that some things happened in the winter window. We are very thankful to Borja Herrera and Javi Siverio because they helped us be Super Cup champions – but also in the ISL we suffered due to poor finishing. If you remember, we didn’t have a lot of participation from these players in the final third – Borja only had one goal and no assists – while Siverio had nothing. We’re thinking of the future, we have to try things and see what happens next season.

“Victor is a player who has great numbers in creating chances. Today for example, in the goal set-piece we had a plan and it was a very good half-assist from him. It was what we worked in training. Felicio is also trying to help us with goals, while Aleksandar Pantic came on as a substitute and helped us too. I’m very happy because the players are helping, we are working for the future and have also got results like the option to participate in an AFC competition next season. That is important for the club, and that’s why we’ve decided to not use players who will not be there for us next season and are trying to watch for more options,” he also added.

Praise for Nandhakumar Sekar

Finally, Carles Cuadrat had a lot of praise for goal-scorer Nandhakumar Sekar and stated: “I think it was a mistake not to take Nandha to the AFC Asian Cup squad. He’s in the position where he can be one of the main options for the national team. But we were lucky to use him in the Super Cup and he helped us become champions.

“He has to be consistent with his performances, and he is doing that. He’s getting the numbers and is a leader of Indian attacking players. He’s doing the right things,” he concluded.

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