Owen Coyle: I feel Thoi Singh was harshly dealt with

The Chennaiyin FC head coach also revealed that he feels the draw was a fair result.

Chennaiyin FC held Bengaluru FC to share the spoils after the Marina Machans played out a goalles draw against the Blues on Sunday night. Both sides came close to score the opener but failed to convert their chances. Following the game, Chennaiyin FC head coach Owen Coyle interacted in the post-match press conference.

Owen Coyle began with elaborating his thoughts on Sunday night's game. "When You cant win a game, you shouldn't lose that game. I think it was a hard-fought game and we had some great chances throughout the game," he said.

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"Their keeper made some good save and Andre (Schembri) had a great chance. Bengaluru sat behind the ball and made things difficult for us and that is a big mark of respect with the way we are playing. We lost a little bit of fluency as I had to change Anirudh) Thapa who is suspended and German injured. So obviously I had to sacrifice Andre (Schembri) and bring the extra foreigner in," he added.

"We lost a lot of attacking flair and continuity. To be fair we controlled the game but were very guarded against the Bengaluru counter attack, which they are very good at," Owen Coyle opined.

Thoughts On The Result

"I think the draw was a fair result. Having said that this can be the most crucial point earned by us. It takes us to a good position. Mumbai and Odisha are very much in it but from where we were earlier people gave us no chance to qualify for the playoffs and now we still have every chance to qualify and destiny is very much in our hands. Anirudh Thapa will be back and hopefully, these three matches will go well," Owen Coyle stated.

The Englishman did not shy away from speaking regarding Thoi singh's red card, which reduced the Marina Machans to 10-men at one point of time in the match. However, the tactician feels that Thoi Singh received harsh treatment from the match official.

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"I am really disappointed for Thoi (Singh) tonight, because he worked his socks off for the team. In my intitial opinion I have to say that he was harshly dealt with given the fact that several players were already on a yellow card and still went on committing fouls. I feel he was harshly dealt with," Owen Coyle said.

Chennaiyin FC have been a very free flowing attacking side off late. While their attack have really shone their defence has faltered on many occasions. However, the 53-year-old shared his delight in keeping a clean sheet against Bengaluru FC.

Thoughts On Bengaluru FC

"Bengaluru are very quick on the counter attack with Ashique (Kuruniyan) being lightning quick and also with Deshorn Brown, they have a lot of pace in attack. In terms they looked to play direct. They had only one good chance where we gave the ball away. I don't really think they had that many clear cut chances but the disappointment was we never really scored the goal. However,  this point can be very important and keep our unbeaten run going."

The Chennaiyin FC boss also shared his opinion on Carles Cuadrat complaining about the refereeing in this match. "The last thing I want to do is sit here and complain. If I am honest, looking back at the game I can't really think there is too much for Bengaluru to complain. I felt we might have a penalty when (Lallianzula) Chhangte came on. I need to see it back again. Carles (Cuadrat) has his own ideas of the game but I don't think we committed more fouls than them."

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Owen Coyle was quizzed about the challenge that his team will face playing the top three teams in this last phase when he answered, "I think we have faced Goa here, I guess if you want to get into the top four you have to beat the best teams. The challenge we face is mostly away from home."

"The best thing for us in going to Kerala and Hyderbad and winning, so we have shown that we can win on the road. Let's see how we play, we are comfortable in possession and also comfortable in transition. I watched ATK last night, they are a very good side and have a great stadium. You want to play against great teams, against the best players in the best stadiums. We will go there and try and win," he concluded.