We could not utilise the space we had-Zambrotta

The Italian admitted his team paid the price for not being up to scratch...

Delhi Dynamos FC head coach Gianluca Zambrotta cut a disappointed figure following a 1-0 defeat to Kerala Blasters FC in the first leg of the second semi-final of Hero Indian Super League 2016 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday evening. Kervens Belfort’s brilliant strike in the 65th minute proved to be the difference in front of almost 50,000 spectators.

Both teams now line up again on Wednesday in the capital city for the second leg, and speaking to the media after Sunday’s game, Zambrotta didn’t mince his words and admitted his team paid the price for not being up to scratch. “We know that the problem is not the midfield. We made a lot of mistakes and I think maybe this was the main problem. We had a lot of space to utilise but we could not utilise this space, and we knew this was going to be a difficult match and now we have a match in Delhi and we hope to do better,” Zambrotta told reporters.

“I don’t think that the team had a specific problem and we have done well in the league, and maybe in the last two matches we have not done well [against NorthEast United FC and Mumbai City FC], and I think today we had a bad game and for sure we can do better in Delhi.”

The 39-year-old World Cup winner also hoped that his side’s fortunes will change when they play host in the second leg. “When we play at home, it is an advantage for us. To play in front of our fans is an advantage, and we are fortunate to have the second match at home and it is a good opportunity for us and I hope we are able to utilise this opportunity. I am sure we will get better in the next match. I think Kerala is a very good team and they play like they know and today they played just on the counter and they scored from a counter-attack and they are a very good team,” the Italian said.

“I think tonight we lost 1-0 but we have to think about the next match and we have to recover and change our focus and just try to get better.”

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Report and Photo Courtesy: ISL Media