Naushad Moosa: We can make the playoffs the way the boys played today

The Blues' interim head coach was keen to take the positives following the surprise defeat against East Bengal.

Bengaluru FC’s first game without Carles Cuadrat in the dugout saw them lose 1-0 to SC East Bengal thanks to a Matti Steinmann’s goal in the 20th minute. Interim head coach Naushad Moosa was very happy with his side’s performance, despite them sinking to their fourth successive defeat in as many games.  

“I am happy with the boys’ performance. We tried playing a little more attacking and created chances. Nobody wants to miss chances. The players in the dressing room were positive and they wanted to win. We need to work on our finishing. It has been three games since we last scored. We have our next game in two days. We have 30 points to play for and we can make the playoffs after the way the boys played today,” said Moosa. 

The coach heaped praise on the youngsters that received a start, Parag Shrivas and Ajith Kumar.

“The way Parag played was good. He was moving well and dribbling. I am happy with his performance. Ajith is a young lad playing a big match. It is not easy. We must be more positive and I am sure it will improve,” observed the 49-year old. 

Naushad Moosa also explained the withdrawal of Udanta Singh as a tactical decision and not related to an injury.

“It was not that Udanta was not playing well. It was a tactical decision. Udanta needs space to play and today that space was not available, as they were playing deep. He is not a dribbler that can go past a defender. I brought Cleiton (Silva) to the right and Kristian Opseth on and he made a difference,” explained Moosa. 

Moosa also revealed that he had not discussed with the management on dipping into the transfer market. “Lot of things have happened in the last few days with Carles getting sacked and me stepping in. I did not have enough time to think about this. I need to speak with the management and see how we can progress,” he signed off.

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