Our boys played good football - Shankarlal Chakraborty

The Mariners scored a crucial away goal in the Maldives...

Despite missing several key players against Club Valencia, the Indian giants Mohun Bagan managed to get a draw against the Maldivian side in their AFC Cup playoff on Tuesday. The Indian club missed several key factors in the match, one of which was their head coach Sanjoy Sen who could not travel with the Mariners to Maldives due to personal reasons. Assistant coach Shankarlal Chakraborty was in-charge of the team against Club Valencia and praised his team for their performance after the match concluded.

“Our boys played good football. They created so many chances throughout the 90 minutes match,” said Chakraborty to the reporters in the post-match press conference. “But somehow we (could not) score too many,” he further added. However, the assistant coach revealed the result was delightful considering the away factor. “But still, (it was an) away match, so one point is good enough,” he said.

The assistant coach was asked if the pre-match preparation was fruitful against Club Valencia when he answered, “we are coming from an I-League match, then long journey.”

Mohun Bagan started the match brightly against Club Valencia on Tuesday, however, they conceded a late goal and only managed to salvage a single point from the match. When asked about what went wrong for the Green and Maroons, Chakraborty replied, “It happens. Sometimes we play good, sometimes bad. But still, if you (had) seen the full 90 minutes, we created at least six open chances.”

“Our striker was going to the scoring position. Today he (might) miss but tomorrow he (will) score,” Chakraborty said. The Bagan assistant coach pointed out the atmosphere was a deciding factor for the match when he said, “In this hot weather, one point is good enough. As a coach, I am happy.”

Mohun Bagan will host Club Valencia in on 28th February at Rabindra Sarobar Stadium in Kolkata.