Roca praises character on display, Sankarlal blames himself for defeat
The Blues will face East Bengal in the final of the tournament.
Bengaluru FC rallied from a goal down to beat Mohun Bagan 4-2 in the semifinal of the Hero Super Cup at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. The Blues’ didn’t allow Nishu Kumar’s red card to bog them down, as Miku led their charge with an incredible hat-trick alongside Sunil Chhetri’s late stunner. The Mariners had the initial lead but Dipanda Dicka’s brace wasn’t enough to see them through to the Final.
Bengaluru’s head coach Albert Roca praised his side's character and quality while addressing the media during the post-match press conference. "Character, quality, and talent never let you down," he said. “We were trailing and there was always the danger of us bowing out. We were also a man down. In such a situation, we just had one option – to go forward and go all out. The character on display was exemplary.”
After his team showed great composure to come back and script a memorable win, the Spaniard further went on to add, “I am happy for everybody, not just the players on the field but also the substitutes. I congratulate them all for the victory. Nishu’s red card was the turning point. Maybe at that point everyone felt making a comeback was impossible,” Roca stated.
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Meanwhile, Bagan’s head coach Shankarlal Chakraborty admitted that he might have gone wrong in his assessment of the opponents. "Maybe it's my mistake that I couldn't guide and instruct the side well. I might have gone wrong in reading Bengaluru," he inferred. "We conceded (the goals) from silly mistakes. Those weren't brilliant moves. Then we created openings, but couldn't make anything from it."
[KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]Admitting that his side's plan was to allow Bengaluru to enjoy the majority share of the possession and hit them on the counter, the 42-year old said, "The plan was to let Bengaluru play their game and stop them when they enter our zone. We were excellent in the first half. In the second half, maybe that red card changed things.”
While describing Bengaluru’s fightback, Chakraborty shared, “For the first goal, Miku got past three of my markers and none of them put in a tackle. For the second goal, we switched off. Everyone knows they tend to take quick free-kicks. My team switched off and got punished. Maybe it's my mistake that I didn't provide the team with enough information to tackle a team like Bengaluru."
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