We will work hard to win my first trophy with Mohun Bagan, says Jose Molina after Durand Cup semi-final win

The returning Mariners’ coach, Jose Molina, took them to another final.

Jose Molina-led Mohun Bagan Super Giant marched into the 2024 Durand Cup final after an inspired 2-2 (4-3) win over Bengaluru FC at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on Tuesday (August 27). The Mariners went down by two goals in the 50th minute thanks to goals from Sunil Chhetri and Vinith Venkatesh, after which they turned up the heat.

Dimitri Petratos scored a penalty in the 69th minute before Anirudh Thapa brought things level with a brilliant goal in the 85th minute. The match was forced into a penalty shootout, where Vishal Kaith saved two penalties to help take his side into the final.

Jose Molina praised Mohun Bagan’s character

Mohun Bagan head coach Jose Molina was happy with the fight shown by his team to get the win, as he stated after the game, “Really happy with this win because this was not an easy match today. Bengaluru proved that they’re a very good team who play very good football, they put us under pressure.

“But the reaction of the team was amazing, they fought till the end and never gave up. We had to go to the penalty shootout to win but we are in the final now. I’m very happy, we will work hard to win my first trophy with Mohun Bagan.”

Thoughts on silly mistakes

The Spaniard accepted that his side are making occasional errors, with the second goal resulting in that today, as he noted, “The first mistakes were from the referees. The first goal that Punjab scored against us in the last match was not a penalty and today their first penalty was not a penalty. Referees can make mistakes. We suffered from some personal errors and we must improve that. But things like that happen in pre-season.

“We are starting with the players, I’ve known them and they’ve known me and my style of player for a short period. The truth is today we didn’t let them make many chances to score today. We defended well generally but there were occasional errors and Bengaluru took advantage of that to score. I’m sure we will improve those issues and ensure that with every match there are fewer mistakes,” he finished.

Will the Durand Cup final be easier?

When asked if believes the Durand Cup final against NorthEast United will be easier than this, the gaffer replied: “Maybe that’s for you as you sit on the stands and don’t have to run. It’s never easy to be in a match. In the first match we played against the Indian Airforce we won 6-0 after the match it seemed easy, but the players ran a lot and made a great effort to win.

“It’s never easy to win a match and I have experience here in the ISL and I know it’s never easy to win any match in the ISL. You always have to fight 90 minutes and give your 100% to win the matches. In the final against NorhtEast, we must fight 100% throughout the 90 minutes to win the match.”

Secret for Mohun Bagan constantly reaching finals

Speaking about what the reason is for Mohun Bagan constantly getting to cup finals in recent years, Molina stated, “Everything! First of all, it’s the nature of the club to make good decisions, signing very good players and signing very good coaches as well. We get a lot of motivation to do our best, the fans support the team all the time and that helps us as a team a lot.

“The players work very hard, they are on the pitch and prove they’re really good players every match. It doesn’t matter if the coach is Antonio Habas or Jose Molina, the players are very good. In my opinion, my job is to make my players help themselves to their best football in every match. That is my job. I’ll try to do it and at the moment I’m happy with our progress and I hope the players are happy with me. I hope we can have a successful season together.”

Molina’s warning to Mohun Bagan squad

Finally, Molina warned that no Mohun Bagan player can be guaranteed to start in every game and he will heavily rotate them this season. He explained: “Anirudh Thapa is a great player. He’s a very good player and he has played 90 minutes today. We have great players in our squad, and to me, it’s very good to have Thapa, Apuia and Tangri. I have to choose between them in every match. I try to choose the best in every moment to help the team. Not all the players will play all the matches.

“We have a lot of matches, have AFC Champions League matches too. Greg Stewart played 90 minutes in the last match, today came in the second half and did a great job. Cummings and Dimitrios didn’t play in the last match and played well from the start today.

“It’s not about the players, it’s the spirit of the squad. All of them are great players who fight 90 minutes for their team. Today they prove they’ll never give up and try to win. We won in the penalty kicks today,” he finished with.

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