ISL 2022-23: One point feels like a victory – Chennaiyin FC head coach Thomas Brdaric

Chennaiyin FC head coach Thomas Brdaric feels sharing a point with Kerala Blasters FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai on Monday felt like a victory. The Tuskers were coming into this match after winning their last five matches and the Marina Machans had their work cut out in the game.

Kerala Blasters FC took a 1-0 lead after Sahal Abdul Samad scored in the 23rd minute of the game. However, the home team was able to bounce back into the contest in the second half as Vincy Barretto equalized in the 48th minute.

Brdaric wants his players to learn from their past mistakes and not repeat them to savor success in the ongoing ninth edition of the Hero Indian Super League.

Sharing his thoughts on the match, Brdaric said, “I’m delighted that we bounced back, with a good mentality and power. It was a good effort as we played against a good team, the team who had won their last five matches. As a coach you’re never satisfied, we have to improve of course but today with the circumstances, the fans and the opponents, it was a great event. I’m really proud of the fans, how they support us and the atmosphere, that’s something that we need.”

When asked if the current squad of the team matches the style with which he wants to play, Brdaric said, “It takes time to develop the team and which players we have on the bench. This is our work, our achievement. We have a big squad, we don’t have quality balanced throughout. We have players that make the difference, today I trust the players who have been in the starting XI. The players on the bench came on and showed why we have them. It’s also about how you let the players play, ofcourse in some spells we were brave and bold and we showed quality in creating chances. We created chances to score only one goal.

He added, “Of course, at home, we can score more but the good thing is that we know that we can score all the time. So that’s why the defence is almost okay. The first goal that we conceded was too simple. Starting from our strikers, we were not organised, in the middle we left a hole that we didn’t cover, we didn’t protect and a team like Kerala Blasters FC were able to exploit the spaces. We spoke about it in the half-time (talk) that we change, especially in the pressing, we have to be more aggressive and we have to be close to the opponent and it was visible in the second half that we changed some things.”

Brdaric added it was a great fight between the two teams and he was delighted with the team’s efforts in the second half.

He concluded, “In the last 10 minutes, everything was open. A win, draw or loss was possible. This is the drama that I like in football. Today it was a great fight from both teams, both teams want to be in the playoffs. We learn from our tweaks in the past and we don’t repeat the same mistakes again and we prevented something like this in a good way, especially in the second half. Today one point feels like a victory.”

The Marina Machans have won four matches, lost as many and drawn two games in the ongoing season. Chennaiyin FC will next take on Mumbai City FC on Saturday at the Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai.