Carles Cuadrat blames long travel time for slow start against NorthEast United

Both teams fettered away leads in a topsy-turvy game on Tuesday night.

The Bengaluru FC head coach, Carles Cuadrat, was bullish about his side’s performance after their third stalemate in four games against NorthEast United as goals from Juanan and Udanta Singh were cancelled out by a brace from Luis Machado. 

“The draw was not frustrating. We were working towards three points and were trying our best. We came back after a bad start to the game when they scored easily. Created a lot of chances and were very close to the three points. The team is improving step-by-step. We had 20 shots today. I think today we deserved three points but I also would like to congratulate NorthEast United who were very organized and a difficult team to beat,” said Carles Cuadrat.

The coach defended his team’s slow start to the game and further revealed that preparation leading to the match was not ideal.

“I do not want to make excuses but there was a problem with the roads in Goa. We took hours to arrive at the stadium. When we take two hours to arrive at the stadium then it's not the ideal situation for the players,” claimed Cuadrat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR9AafvhW5I

Bengaluru FC head coach Carles Cuadrat reacts after his side settled for a draw against NorthEast United.

The Spaniard has doubled down on the view that the team are a few weeks away from their best. “We are improving in terms of our fitness but we still have work to do. Each player is working hard towards their individual bests. Every player has their own pace at which they will gain full fitness,” opined the Spaniard.  

The Blues have seen most of their goals this season coming from set-plays but the former Barcelona man revealed that there was no undue attention given towards set-plays in training routines. 

“It is not true that we only focus on set-pieces. To be honest, we only spend 20 minutes on set-pieces in training. My personal wish is for four goals from open play in every match. For that to happen we need to work a lot. The players trust in the work we do and we create a lot of chances. They execute on the pitch what we plan in the dressing room,” signed off the Spaniard.

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