Bozidar Bandovic calls for more aggression, energy from his players

The head coach also clarified his decision to take Nerijus Valskis off early in the game

Chennaiyin FC endured their fourth loss of the 2021-22 ISL campaign at the hands of a resourceful FC Goa. The Gaurs took three points on the night through a delightful finish from Jorge Ortiz eight minutes from time.

The Spaniard scored from a fantastic long range effort to score his fourth goal of the season. Head coach Derrick Pereira also oversaw his first win this season. The Marina Machans, despite their efforts, never truly tested stand-in goalkeeper Naveen Kumar. The win took the Gaurs to 12 points and within striking distance of the playoff spots.

The Marina Machans lacked intensity and cohesion in their gameplay. The Gaurs' relentless energy and pressing buckled them down, as they never got into second gear in the game. The result and the performance would've surely disappointed head coach Bozidar Bandovic. It was evident as he answered questions from the media after the game.

Would you have done better without a player injured?

Bozidar Bandovic: Yes, because it was a tight game without many chances. They had more possession than us and they moved the ball well like they do in all their games. But, without chances, we probably could've gotten a draw. We lost a lot of balls and even in attacking we should be better.

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You made a change in formation with Lallianzuala Chhangte on the bench. What was the plan?

Bozidar Bandovic: We have started games like this, so it was not a problem. But, we wanted to change something after he came inside with Lukasz (Gikiewicz). The team was more aggressive and better. We wanted to make the change for the better and after that, we were better in attack. We only need to avoid conceding those goals because otherwise, we were better and aggressive after the changes we made.

Valskis came off early in the game. Are there any injury concerns?

Bozidar Bandovic: No, he asked for the change because he was feeling tired. Also, at that point, we anyways wanted to bring Chhangte in to make the team offensively better. So, we made the double change upfront with Lukasz and Chhangte.

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