We wanted to rest main players and rotate squad, says Santosh Kashyap
(Courtesy : ISL Media)
Santosh Kashyap revealed that Odisha FC were not focusing on this game.
Odisha FC faced a defeat against NorthEast United in the recently concluded match of Indian Super League 2023-24.
Although NorthEast United failed to make it to the playoffs, this win at the end of their campaign will surely act as a motivation and the Highlanders will look to come back stronger next season.
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The post-match press conference was attended by Odisha FC’s Santosh Kashyap, who answered the queries of the media.
We had our chances
Although Odisha FC lost the match, they had their chances in the middle which they couldn’t capitalize. Santosh Kashyap said, “Honestly we didn’t expect this outcome. Yes, they were good in transition but we also had our chances. It was not our day or else Roy could have scored a hat-trick today. A penalty miss and 2-3 other chances were also missed. We came back well in the second half but couldn’t convert our chances in the middle.”
We rested some players
Odisha FC rested some players to give chances to the young players in the team. When a question was raised about this, Kashyap replied, “It’s a part of the rotation. We wanted to rest our main players and give chances to some others in the team. And when you see the Indian players, they put everything on the line except scoring. They need to learn how to score in top matches. You played well, put in all the effort, but scoring is the cutting edge. They will definitely learn from this experience.”
It won’t affect our morale
Santosh Kashyap was very clear with the point that this loss won’t affect Odisha FC’s morale in the upcoming playoffs. He said, “We were not focusing on this game. We just wanted to rotate the squad and give rest to our main players. If the young players don’t get the chance now then when will they get it?”
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