Bozidar Bandovic gives vote of confidence to players despite BFC loss

The coach opined on his side's performance against Bengaluru FC on the night

Bengaluru FC avoided the opportunity to equal their longest winless run in ISL history. The Blues snapped their seven-game winless streak by winning 4-2 against southern rivals Chennaiyin FC at the Tilak Maidan.

Chennaiyin FC took the lead through Mirlan Murzaev in only the fourth minute. But, some individual errors saw them go 2-1 down at half-time. The Marina Machans hit back through Rahim Ali at the start of the second half. However, that would prove to be the final consolation for them on a tough night.

Alan Costa, Pratik Chaudhari, Udanta Singh and Cleiton Silva (from the spot) stepped up to score the goals for the Blues. The win was Bengaluru's second triumph this season, after their opening game win against NorthEast United.

Chennaiyin FC head coach Bozidar Bandovic addressed questions from the media post his side's loss.

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Addressing the issues

Chennaiyin FC have slumped to three defeats in their last five games. Therefore, the Marina Machans have lost some pace with the early season trendsetters.

When asked about the reasons for his side's slump in form, Bozidar Bandovic replied, "If I speak about this game, I think we did very well. I think we created a lot of chances and after 1-0, we played very well. From 1-0, we went down 2-1, but we had a very good first half. We made some changes and we also had an injury. For most of the game we did well, we pressed well and high. So, we did well, but we take nothing from this game. We need to improve and see how we can avoid the mistakes we are making as a team."

Bandovic's men got caged in their own half after scoring the opener which allowed Bengaluru FC inroads. Marco Pezzaiouli's men pressed well and came back well in the first half before going 2-1 up.

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When asked about his side's reticence after taking the lead, Bandovic clarified that it was not tactical. "It was not a tactical decision (to get defensive). I think we were under some pressure to get the result. We lost some second balls, they had a couple of shots, but we were still in the game. We had chances and we might have scored and even finished the game in the first half," said a reminiscent Bandovic.

Winning and losing together

Bozidar Bandovic has emphasized the collective more than the individual. When asked about the reasons behind his side's defensive woes, he was quick to praise and also make his whole team responsible for the results so far.

"It is always the whole team (not only the defence). Everybody is pointing out individual mistakes and they are there in every game. It happens. When we lose, we lose as a team. I always believe that you never lose. You either win or you learn," Bandovic replied confidently.

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