Jose Molina sends plea to Mohun Bagan fans ahead of intense Jamshedpur FC clash

Jose Molina’s Mohun Bagan trail by 2-1 ahead of the ISL 2024-25 semifinal 2, leg 2.

Jose Molina’s Mohun Bagan will be looking to overturn the 2-1 deficit and pick up a dominant win in the second leg of their 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) semifinal against Jamshedpur FC at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on Monday (7 April).

The game is expected to be an intense one. There are also worries of a potential battle between the two sets of fans after some Mohun Bagan supporters were injured in a nasty encounter with the police in the return leg. When asked about his message to the fans before this game, Jose Molina stated: “We will need the fans to support our team, enjoy the team and respect the opponent. Nothing more. Of course, violence is not good, ever, and hopefully it will never happen again.”

On Player’s motivation

He also spoke about whether his players will be extra charged up to win this game because of what happened to their supporters, explaining: “In my opinion, the players wanted to show their support to our fans and that why they commented on that. We fight every day for our fans and that is the reason why we’re here. The fans always give us extra motivation.

“I would like that kind of incident doesn’t happen ever again, we all don’t want that kind of incident. But I want my players fighting for their fans at their best every day. Hopefully they can use that kind of incident to make an extr effort. We need to fight for the fans always, at our best,” he added.

The gaffer also spoke about the importance for his players to keep their emotions in check and maintain calmness with their approach, stating: “It’s always important for the players to remain calm. It’s important to be calm and to be happy. It’s to try to find the balance. You have to go for the win at times, being calm isn’t good all the good. We will try our best against a team that defends so deep like Jamshedpur FC.

“They have a lot of players inside the box, stopping the actions and service. Sometimes you have to be calm to make better decisions and have the best positions to score. But you also have to push, there is no doubt. I’m sure we will find that balance during the match,” the Spaniard opined.

Mohun Bagan heads into this game with 11 wins on the trot at the Salt Lake Stadium. When asked about the reason for this domination, the Spanish coach claimed a big role that the fans play. We try to do our same in every match against each team in every pitch. Not always exactly the same, because it’s not the same to play against one team and then like that against another team.

“But we try to keep a similar style to win matches. Whether we play at home or away, it’s the same approach. At home, we have more fans to support and they push us to play much better. They make some pressure on the rivals, and the only difference are the fans,” he also stated.

On qualifying for ISL finals

Finally, when questioned about how confidence he is to see the second leg finish within the first 90 minutes, Molina claimed: “I’m 100% confident to finish the tie in 90 miuntes. I’m always confidence in my boys and players to win the match together. Sometimes things can happen in the match, but today I’m more confidence than I was before in another match. I always push my players to give their best from the first to the last minute.

“They made a few mistakes in the last match, but they are always trying to push for wins and make things possible. They are a raelly good team with a clear style, but that gives me more confidence in my players and in my team, here at the Salt Lake Stadium we expect things to be absolutely different than what happened in the first leg,” the gaffer finished with.

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