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regular-article-logo Wednesday, 16 October 2024

Three points on Mohun Bagan coach's mind

The club won back-to-back matches in the AFC Cup

Our Bureau Calcutta Published 23.08.21, 12:52 AM
Roy Krishna

Roy Krishna File picture

A draw against Bashundhara Kings of Bangladesh on Tuesday will be enough for group leaders ATK Mohun Bagan to book their place in the next round of AFC Cup, but coach Antonio Lopez Habas wants nothing less than three points from the match.

“Now we have six points. No other team in Group D has that. Even if we draw the next match, we can go to the next round. But we are not thinking about that. The boys will play the next match to win because it is another important match against an unknown opponent.

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“We will enter the field thinking only of winning. Bashundhara is a very good team. We have to give them more importance.”

ATK Mohun Bagan won back-to-back matches in the AFC Cup. In their first match they prevailed over Bengaluru FC 2-0 and then they defeated Maziya Sports and Recreation Club 3-1 on Saturday.

Asked about the match again Maziya, Habas said: “We did not play our own game in the first half. Maziya also got a goal. But in the second half we changed our strategy.

“We made some changes and that worked for us. You will see that my boys have played two types of football in two halves. I am proud of them.”

Captain Roy Krishna scored two goals in two matches, but he has a grievance. “Against Maziya, a goal I scored was cancelled since it was judged offside. In my opinion it was a legitimate goal. However, the referee’s decision is final.

“We have a lot of good footballers in the team. Our attacking line is effective enough. We showed that in the second half when we played our own game. That is the real character of our team — the fighting mentality till the last minute. We have to maintain it in the last match of the group as well,” Krishna said.

ATK Mohun Bagan conceded a goal first in the last game, but had the confidence to bounce back, said striker Manvir Singh. “We never thought that we would not win the game even after falling behind. We never felt any kind of pressure. We knew that we would win,” he said.

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