Naushad Moosa explains reason behind excluding Xisco Hernandez

The interim head coach highlighted the positives and negatives of his side's performance after their loss against the Mariners.

The Fatorda Stadium witnessed Bengaluru FC go down 2-0 to ATK Mohun Bagan in the Indian Super League. The Mariners have now moved within a point of league leaders Mumbai City FC. The Blues’ interim head coach Naushad Moosa addressed the media after the game. 

Mentality of players

He was asked if there were any positives from the match to which he replied, “The boys played well and after the penalty, the players lost their motivation. We could see the frustration, unnecessarily conceding fouls. We could have controlled that.” 

Three of Bengaluru FC’s players were booked during the game. Naushad Moosa was also protective of his players, as he spoke about the situation of a senior player like (Harmanjot) Khabra receiving a yellow card and not setting an example. “It is not about that, the way the game is going on, it is hard to control emotions. He just expressed himself, that’s it. It’s just that he went for a tackle. Maybe, he was more aggressive at that moment. That’s it.”

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Tough Opposition

Bengaluru FC were dominated by a strong ATKMB side, but the team were prepared to gain control of the game and make use of the opportunities. Moosa said, “It is always difficult when you are playing against a team like ATKMB, who are also strong in the defence and have quality players. When you’re two goals down, you’ve to score another two goals.

"The way we started, it was really nice. The idea was to stay calm and keep the ball and we were doing that really well. In the second half, we did try, but things didn’t work out in our favour.”

Opseth over Xisco

The Blues’ coach was inquired about the choice of Kristian Opseth over Xisco Hernandez and he detailed the same. He said, ”Xisco is still not match-fit. We need more time with him. In the beginning, for sure, our choice was to start with Opseth only. I needed experience on the left and therefore, I had Sunil (Chhetri) there and it helped.”

Slim Chance for the Playoffs

The Blues are now four points behind NorthEast United with a game in hand.When asked about the possibility of qualification, Naushad Moosa replied, “It all depends on the other games. The only thing that we need to do is be positive and play the rest of the three games and play good football.”

The coach added that the team will be having a good rest after having played a lot of close games. He said, “We need to have a good rest and we will be thinking about the Mumbai game at first.”