Antonio Habas expresses 'total satisfaction' after win against Kerala Blasters

The Mariners' head coach was delighted with the win against Kerala Blasters.

ATK Mohun Bagan produced arguably their best performance in the Indian Super League (ISL) this season, coming back from a two-goal deficit to defeat Kerala Blasters 3-2 on Sunday. After goals from Gary Hooper and Costa Nhamoinesu put Kibu Vicuna’s side ahead, the Mariners rallied back through a goal from debutant Marcelinho and a brace from Roy Krishna. The win helps Antonio Habas and his men move three points closer to league leaders Mumbai City FC.

The Result

Habas was delighted with the result and explaining his thoughts on the comeback win, he said, “I’m really satisfied with the win. Maybe, we didn’t have good control in the first half. After that it took the entire team to put in a fantastic effort in the second 45 minutes. I think that we absolutely deserved the win.”

The Critics

For every critic which says that ATKMB like to score one goal and then sit back for the win, the Spaniard had an interesting answer. He said: “Balance is the magic word. Balance is the magic word in football. I prefer winning 1-0 than drawing or losing the match. This is football. We don’t have a team for scoring 4-5 goals per match.

"Neither ATK Mohun Bagan nor any other team in the league can do that. We have to control the result for winning. Maybe, for one goal rather than no goal. Winning a game by a one-goal margin is perfect for us. We have more problems with the first XI today with 3-4 players injured and we scored three goals. Football is amazing no?," he added.

Performance of forwards

https://youtu.be/c8kOKU7nd_E

When asked about his feelings on the performances of his forwards, Habas revealed, “I am never disappointed with the forwards. The idea for me always is to hope more for my team, not for only my forwards. The striker is a consequential part of football, as is central midfield and defence. I think in the second half, we had a fantastic organization in attack which really hurt the opponent.”

Marcelinho's Contribution

The ATKMB manager was also delighted with the contribution of debutant Marcelinho and said, “We want to recover the best of Marcelinho. We know that the best Marcelinho is the one who played for Delhi (Dynamos). This is the one of Pune (City). The player is a good performer, gives good effort and scored. For me, he needs more minutes and needs more confidence. The goal he scored was vital and will give him more confidence – which is fantastic for us.”

Half-time Talk

Antonio Habas was also asked about what he told the players at half-time. He explained, “In half-time I talk with the players to belief in our possibility to win. We changed the system to 4-2-3-1 and the match changed because the team had a fantastic performance, they were sentimental and proud enough to get the win.”

Goals Conceded

The tactician didn’t like the way ATKMB conceded the two goals, indicating that his goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya was fouled leading up to the second. He said, “I think the second goal, maybe a foul happened. I think we are the team with least goals scored against. So, I don’t have any issues with our defensive work.”

Roy Krishna's thoughts

Man of the Match Roy Krishna was delighted with the win, praising his team’s character, saying, “We showed character. We came back in the last minutes of some games before in this season and we knew we could win. We knew from pre-season itself. We dug deep and got the three points.”