Bengaluru FC interim coach defended the form of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, criticized for his performance against the Kerala Blasters…
Bengaluru FC’s Naushad Moosa explained his decision to give Fran Gonzalez a start ahead of Pratik Chaudhary against the Kerala Blasters in their last game which they lost 2-1.
Interestingly, the former Air India coach revealed Chaudhari lacked the qualities that match Bengaluru’s style of play. It should be noted that Chaudhari signed a two-year contract this summer.
“As a coach I can’t complain about all of this, that we don’t have Albert (Serran). I have to do with the resources we have. Fran was injured and the way he played he was bigger. Pratik is not the player who naturally suits Bengaluru’s playing style at the back. Fran played with Mohun Bagan and won the I-League. But we have to support the players and motivate them. We have to keep pushing them, ”Moosa said.
Bengaluru FC suffered their fifth loss in their last six games and Moosa urged players to stay positive despite the results not going in their favor. He also pointed out that distinguishing goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu for the two goals was not the best assessment, as they had stopped at certain points collectively.
“It was really disappointing to lose. When we watched the game later, we found a lot of positives. If you see the goals, he was conceded due to stupid defensive mistakes. It could have been avoided. We need to stay positive and move forward. It’s do or die for us.
“We have to win every game. We must avoid conceding easy goals. it’s a team effort. (We) cannot blame Gurpreet alone. We have to be vigilant during the 90 minutes, ”he said.
Udanta Singh, who has a goal under his belt this season, was once again back in the calculation as he started against the Kerala Blasters. The Manipuri winger who signed a contract extension with the club over the summer has struggled to make an impact and it remains to be seen whether playing under Moosa’s tutelage can revive his form.
“Kerala was giving (leaving) enough space behind. We wanted to use it. We have succeeded. After this match, Udanta is back in shape. He wants to do better. The idea of having four in midfield was to stay compact. Sunil and Udanta scored their number six (Vicente Gomez). It really helped us, ”said Moosa.
Bengaluru FC are in the bottom half of the table, but they still have a chance to make the top four. Moosa believes Bengaluru FC need a win under their belt to turn their fortunes around this quarter.
“Winning and losing are part of the game. But they work well. Of course, we are not used to the points table. They now know the importance of every game. We are positive. Apart from the first two (Mumbai City FC and ATK Mohun Bagan), all are very close. We must continue to fight.
“A win gives you three points and that will push us higher in the table. Just a matter of winning a game. This one victory is very important to us. The dynamics will change completely, ”he explained.
They will face Odisha FC on Sunday night and Moosa said converting the odds and being disciplined at the back are crucial elements that could decide the game.
“If you ask Odisha, they’ll tell you BFC is not in good shape. But if we keep that (the level against Kerala), we can win against Odisha. It depends on the conversion of these chances. We keep trying and enjoy it and stay disciplined at the back. It’s important that we don’t allow them to play, ”said the 49-year-old.
