First half was amazing, second half every decision was wrong: Mohun Bagan's Jose Molina on Durand Cup 2024 final loss

José Molina blames wrong decisions and lack of intensity for the Durand Cup Final defeat.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant failed to defend their Durand Cup title after facing a loss against NorthEast United FC in the penalty shootout of the final of the 133rd IndianOil Durand Cup on Saturday at the Salt Lake Stadium.

In the first half, Mohun Bagan had the upper hand, scoring two goals, a penalty by Jason Cummings in the 11th minute and another by Sahal Abdul Samad– putting them in front. However, NorthEast United FC showed their intensity and successfully made a comeback.

They equalized the two-goal deficit within 58 minutes of the second half. The game went to a penalty shootout, where Gurmeet Singh turned out to be a hero for the Highlanders, leading them to the first title in the club’s history.

Tough luck for Molina's Mariners as they fall only a little 🤏🏻short of their title defense❌💔#IndianFootball #durandcup2024final #mohunbagan #northeastunitedfc pic.twitter.com/l4xp9OefE4

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) August 31, 2024

It’s difficult to understand and explain; every decision was wrong

José Francisco Molina, head coach of Mohun Bagan Super Giant, expressed his thoughts on the final game of the Durand Cup in the post-match press conference. He said the team gave an amazing performance in the first half, but every decision in the second half went wrong. “I think it’s difficult to understand, and it’s difficult to explain, because in the first half, there was an amazing performance, but in the second half, every decision was wrong,” he expressed.

Talking about the second-half play, José Molina admitted that the decisions taken in the second half were wrong. “We lost a lot of balls, pressing higher and higher. We couldn’t play the same way as in the first half, every decision was wrong. And finally, they (NorthEast United FC) scored two goals.”

The impact of substitutions

Sahal Abdul Samad, who was involved in both goals for the Mariners, won the penalty and scored the second, but was substituted in the half time. In response to a question about the wrong decision of the substitution, José Molina said that all the decisions were wrong. He said, “Sahal was playing well. I decided to make a substitution because I wanted to have more forwards with Dimi in front. I think Dimi (Dimitrios Petratos) … maybe not a good decision.”

He added, “I’m not telling you that the players are wrong. I’m the main guardian that they lost. But no good decisions in the second half.”

“Alberto had an injury. We needed to make a substitution. I preferred him playing, but things happened. It couldn’t help us in the second half,” José Molina said in response to a question about the forced substitution of Mohun Bagan defender, Alberto Rodríguez.

Wanted to enter ISL as Durand Cup champions

Talking about the upcoming Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 season, José Molina wished that Mohun Bagan could enter ISL as Durand Cup winners. Speaking about balancing the team for the AFC competition and ISL, he said, “It’s not about which competition is more important. Every match is important for us. Every match. It doesn’t matter the competition. Every match we are going to play, we are going to defend the home advantage.”

“We will try to look at the balance in terms of the selection of players. In every match, we will try to put the best players possible. But not just play for one competition and not play for another competition. At this moment, it’s not my plan. I will try to put the best team possible, the best line-up possible.”

“I want to improve everything. I’m really happy with the first half. I think we did two great goals. But we need to be consistent. We have to do the same in the second half. We can’t make a big difference in the second half. We have to improve everything,” he said in response to a question about points of improvement for the upcoming Indian Super League.

We suffered two goals because we didn’t work with the same intensity

In response to a question about the formation, José Molina replied that the 3-5-2 formation can work well if executed in the right direction. He also blamed the second-half intensity. He said, “It’s good if we create a 3-5-2 formation. It’s good if we work in the right direction, everybody together. It doesn’t matter the formation. If we work in the same direction and we work at our best, we play well.”

Further, he said, “Did you see the first half? We played really well. We didn’t suffer goals. We could have scored 3, 4, or 5 goals because everybody was working in the same direction. In the second half, we didn’t change the formation. We suffered two goals because we didn’t work with the same intensity, in the same way, everybody together. We made some wrong decisions in the second half. It’s not about the formation. In my opinion, it’s about the intensity of the play.” he signed off.

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