Carles Cuadrat: Things have gone in bad direction for Udanta this season

The Spaniard rued his side's lack of finishing in the game.

Bartholomew Ogbeche's brace powered Kerala Blasters to their first win over Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League. The Blues were in the lead, until Ogbeche fired in just before the half-time whistle. The Nigerian scored from the spot in the second half after Raphael Messi Bouli was brought down by Albert Serran. Bengaluru FC head coach Carles Cuadrat addressed the media in the post-match press conference.

On The Team’s Performance

The coach was asked if the team’s performance was a bit off as compared to their previous displays. He replied, “My players always go 100% and try their best. It was my decision to try to save little bit of energy making that 5-4-1 system, trying to not concede a lot of space to Ogbeche and (Raphael) Messi Bouli. We know that they are very good quality players and tried to be compact. It was perfect for the 0-1 and it was still going perfectly for 0-2." [KH_ADWORDS type="4" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] "Unfortunately, we were not clinical in front of goal and it’s something that we have been suffering during all the season. We have been creating chances, but if you don't make a gap of two goals then you can always have troubles," Carles Cuadrat added. "They scored from two set-pieces, two actions very close to the box. I think that if you are 0-2, then the mood of the other team is going down and you can have a more comfortable match. But, because they were playing at home and they get 1-1 just in the last minute of the first half, then they got good physical and mental energy for the second half. It happens in football."

On Udanta Singh

The 51-year-old Spaniard shared his thoughts on Udanta Singh who has had a disappointing season with the Blues. “He is a very good player, he is part of the national team and he has been giving us a lot of things during all the seasons. I think that this season he has been working very well in defence, helping a lot always to the full-back and the midfield. Unfortunately, he has not been clinical in attack, he has not been scoring goals and making assists like he was doing last season. But, we support him, we have to try to help him to get the good dynamic and to become clinical again." "Sometimes, little things change the momentum of the player. He got a wonderful assist (Bengaluru FC’s disallowed goal) against Kerala at home) and it was a wonderful header off Raphael Augusto. Maybe with that assist he gets confident and he makes better things. Football is full of little details that change the dynamics, little details that have you to go in one direction or in the other direction. For Udanta this season, things unfortunately have been going in the bad direction to score or to assist." [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News | Article Continues Below"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]

On Bengaluru’s Tight Schedule

“We don’t have in this country a lot of game after game. It’s not like other leagues that you have more number of games, so it’s normal that they feel a little bit tired sometimes. That’s the reason I was putting the team more compact and also we have some rotation. We were missing Sunil (Chhetri) and Juanan because of the yellow cards. Next game in AFC Cup we are going to miss Suresh Wangjam because of the yellow card in that competition." "I think that the team is competing very well. For us, it was very important to reach the playoffs and to reach the AFC Cup group stage. We are working for that," concluded Carles Cuadrat.