Eelco Schattorie: Bengaluru had nothing to say in their own home

The Dutchman was extremely proud of the performance his side delivered against the defending champions.

A Sunil Chhetri header was the difference as Bengaluru FC kept away a valiant Kerala Blasters side at the Sree Kanteerva stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday. The KBFC manager, Eelco Schattorie was diffident that his side were the better team in the game and were unfortunate not to come away with the win. “There was only one team that played football here. I’m not saying that we played fantastic football. First half, we had Bengaluru on the throat. My tactics were spot on, with only three foreigners and two Indian centre backs. They had nothing to say in their own home.” [KH_ADWORDS type="3" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] The Dutchman also expressed his disappointment for the ever supportive KBFC fans who came in their numbers to support the Blasters. “I am very disappointed for our supporters, who came in big numbers because I think we deserved to win.” On The Opponents Speaking about the potency of the Bengaluru attack during set pieces, Eelco Schattorie touched down on how few chances the home side had over the course of the 90 minutes. “Yeah, the set piece is always an issue. We trained on it. But that’s one of the things where you always see the difference. I think Bengaluru had maybe one or two chances, that is it.” On Referees' Decisions The game was not without its share of controversy. The Dutch manager spoke about the goal his side had had ruled out, claiming that it was a wrong call on the part of the linesman. “If I am correct, we got another goal cancelled. I think it was not an offside, from what I heard from the TV commentator. The linesman on that side made a few very big errors.” “So, I am very very disappointed and I am extremely proud that under the circumstances that we are that we brought the game to them and we took them by the throat.” About Sahal Abdul Samad When questioned about Sahal Abdul Samad, the KBFC head coach started to show signs of frustration as he defended his decision to keep the highly rated youngster out of the starting lineup. “Why he did not start? Because then, I have to adjust the system and its tiring for me every time, talking about Sahal.” “He cannot play from the midfield. We have problems. I have injuries. So, you have to pick the best possible team. In this case we should not talk about Sahal, we should talk about how we put Bengaluru under pressure and played a fantastic game with a very depleted team.” [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News | Article Continues Below"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS] On Injuries Finally, the Dutchman spoke about the growing injury list at the club, the latest addition to which was, Mohammad Rafi, who was injured soon after coming onto the field. “That was another setback. In the last part of the game, I wanted to go all out, that means I took the risk to play with three defenders at the back and put one behind the striker. But unfortunately, is this season we are a little bit unlucky.” “It is not a good feeling but nobody to blame, just unlucky," concluded Eelco Schattorie.