Indian football season proper is finally underway as all 12 teams Indian Super League sides were in action with Hyderabad FC and FC Goa the last teams to show face.
India at Asian Games: FULL COVERAGE | MEDAL TALLY | RESULTS | SCHEDULE
India’s campaign at the Asian Games too came to an end as the week’s action took us to Kolkata twice and made trips to Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, Kochi and finally Margao.
A Look At The Results From Matchweek 2 –
Mohun Bagan Super Giant vs Bengaluru FC: Seeing Red
Simon Grayson‘s men were outplayed, outran and in the final minute saw red with Suresh Singh and Roshan Singh being sent off. Mohun Bagan SG were better on the night but more importantly, got all three points thanks to a 67th-minute strike by Hugo Boumous. The Blues displayed strong defensive play throughout the match, but that one mistake separated the two sides. Despite being two men down, Bengaluru FC showed their fighting spirit.
Mohun Bagan coach Juan Ferrando believes his side did well after taking the lead, but he wants his team to improve more in the upcoming matches. “Obviously, we need to improve. I believe that paying attention to many details in situations like this is necessary to better control the space. After the match was tied at 0-0, we improved significantly after going up 1-0. However, the team struggled to control the spaces, so we must work on maintaining that control. This is why we need more training sessions,” the Spaniard said.
Odisha FC vs Mumbai City FC: Anything You Can Do
There were mentions and murmurs of the legendary ‘Ship of Theseus’ as Odisha hosted Mumbai City. The two teams, with largely similar on-field footballing philosophies and styles of play, engaged in a tough tussle as the contest ended in a 2-2 stalemate. Odisha got ahead through Jerry Mawihmingthanga in the stoppage time of the first half, capitalising on a mistake by keeper Mohammad Nawaz. Mumbai City FC levelled just after the restart through Rostyn Griffiths. The Juggernauts thought they had the tie in the bag when Roy Krishna scored, however, the Islanders showed resilience as Jorge Diaz scored just four minutes before the end of regulation time.
Odisha FC head coach Sergio Lobera rued points dropped, saying, “I feel like we lost two points. When the team puts in (such) a big effort, they deserve something more.” Mumbai City FC boss Des Buckingham though was happy to get at least a point, saying, “It was a good game, (especially) when you get two teams who try to play football in a very similar manner.”
NorthEast United vs Chennaiyin FC: A Star is Born
Parthib Gogoi has been making headlines for quite some time and he proved that he is no flash in the pan with a thunderbolt of a strike from outside the box. In the 42nd minute, the 20-year-old scored for the second game in a row and along with strikes from Phalguni Singh and Asheer Akhtar got all three points. Chennaiyin FC boss Owen Coyle kept making substitutions, hoping things would change. When all were used up, keeper Samik Mitra held up with issues in his left hamstring. Ankit Mukherjee pulled on the goalkeeping colour only for Akhtar to blast a long ranger in injury time after 90.
Despite the wonder-strikes NEUFC coach Juan Pedro Benali was full of praise for his defenders. “It was tough, more than what the score shows us. It’s not only Phalguni and Parthib, but all players were strong defensively. The midfield worked a lot,” he said after the match.
East Bengal vs Hyderabad FC: Who’s the Boss?
Thangboi Singto is the head coach of Hyderabad FC but it was first-team coach Conor Nestor, who was the man in charge. Hyderabad FC’s Joe Knowles and Petteri Pennanen looked promising in attack with the new system being implemented this season. They opened the scoring early on through Hitesh Sharma but Cleiton Silva cancelled out his strike almost immediately. The East Bengal talisman converted a stunning free-kick in stoppage time to make sure the Red and Gold pocketed their first win.
HFC had to change their keeper after Laxmikant Kattimani collided with Cleiton and will be out for some time after undergoing surgery. The Hyderabad head coach at the post-match press conference saved face. “As a team, there is no one to be blamed. There are things which we can do better, and we are working towards it,” he said.
Kerala Blasters vs Jamshedpur FC: Moment of Magic
Adrian Luna was the point of difference in a hotly contested encounter as he scored a beautifully worked goal, his second of the campaign. Jamshedpur tried out a new formation with Daniel Chima Chukwu doing a lot of work up. Chances were hard to come by as the away side packed the middle of the field and made the field narrow in defence. A moment of magic, with help from Daisuke Sakai and Dimitrios Diamantakos, made the difference.
Jamshedpur FC interim head coach Scott Cooper was not happy with the result. “We were desperately unlucky in this game. I don’t think Kerala (Blasters FC) deserved to win, and I definitely know we didn’t deserve to lose,” he said after the match.
FC Goa vs Punjab FC: In the Wrong
FC Goa opened their campaign for the season under new manager Manolo Marquez by pipping Punjab FC by a goal, courtesy of a 17th-minute strike by Carlos Martinez. Luka Majcen thought he had equalised for Punjab in the second half but his goal was wrongly flagged offside by the referees. The newly-promoted side was far better in possession, as compared to their previous outing in the league, with the Gaurs too showing renewed vigour under their new boss.
FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez was not happy with his side’s performance. “The opponent created some clear chances. In the defensive line, the team was more or less okay. I’m very angry with the performance. We won because we have good players and the quality of the players decided one action (the goal) decided the game,” he said after the match.
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