“We were simply not confident enough,” ATK Mohun Bagan boss Juan Ferrando admits the lack of confidence in their defeat against Bengaluru FC

ATK Mohun Bagan suffered a 2-1 defeat against Bengaluru FC at home in their recent Indian Super League clash. With this win the Blues are back in playoff spots just a couple of points above seventh placed Odisha FC.

ATKMB head coach Juan Ferrando was very surprised with the result and also with the performance overall. It looked like a dull game right from the start and the first half was filled with half chances as both teams lacked confidence in their attempts to finish chances in the final third.

It was only in the 77th minute in the second half that Javi Hernandez broke the deadlock from a beautiful Roshan Naorem pass to hand the visitors the lead. Another former player Roy Krishna also joined the party and extended the lead for Bengaluru FC. Whereas despite ATK Mohun Bagan’s best efforts they could only manage to score a consolation through Dimitratos Petratos late in injury time.

“When we had opportunities, we were simply not confident enough. The team knows the plan but they gave away possessions cheaply. I was really surprised to see the team scared after 62-63 minutes and I don’t know why!” Ferrando stated at the post match press conference.

The Mariners missed the likes of Hugo Boumous and Ashique Kuruniyan and in their absence the likes of Petratos, Federico Gallego and Liston Colaco didn’t do enough to even earn a single point from the game.

“The team was moving out of the game slowly. So, it’s not about just one or two players. I am disappointed with the performance of the whole team,” Ferrando added.

Both the former ATK Mohun Bagan players scored against them on the night but the Fijian scoring sparked more memories as Krishna proved a point. It was Ferrando who did not keep the Fijian in his plan and hence the club looked past him. However Ferrando blames his defenders for the goal that Krishna scored on the night.

“The goal he (Roy Krishna) scored was our mistake. It was totally unnecessary to concede that goal. The team needs to improve from the youth level. In India, you need to work as a team and try to improve as a team,” the Spaniard reasoned.

This was Bengaluru FC’s five straight win and they are on the rise whereas ATK Mohun Bagan are in fourth position with other teams climbing up to compete with the Mariners. The Green and Maroons are just four points above seventh placed Odisha FC and another poor result in the coming games can change the dynamics completely.

“There is pressure in every game. So, the pressure is normal for us. But for me, it is to get the results and follow the process. I’m disappointed with the result but now we need to focus on the remaining games,” Ferrando concluded.

ATK Mohun Bagan will travel to Jamshedpur next to face the Men of Steel on 9th February.