ISL 2022-23: Stephen Constantine, the head coach of East Bengal FC, was disappointed with the result after his team lost to Chennaiyin FC in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) match on Friday at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata. East Bengal lost for the fourth time this year when Vafa Hakhamaneshi’s goal proved to be the game winner.
In the second half, according to Constantine, his team should have taken a 1-0 lead. He claimed that his team struggled to exploit his opportunities. The English reaffirmed that the group must remain consistent and not panic as they have the ability to change their luck. He added that while adjustments are required, they cannot happen in a few weeks.
The following are some quotes from Constantine’s post-match press conference: In the league, his team has suffered back-to-back losses. What do you think is the cause of matches not going well for you? I will not offer any justification. We had some fantastic heads-ups with the goalkeeper, and we took advantage of one of them to go 1-0 up at half-time. Facing the target, we must be cautious and take risks. We played poorly in the second half.
We had a lead on them for about 15 minutes before one of our players was also sent off. That kind of mistake is impossible. A tough game that could result in a third straight loss looms after two straight losses. Everyone is running out of time so we need to be patient and give the guys some time.
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We have to go back and try harder as a remedy. As a coach, it is my duty to make sure we improve. We must handle the ball more carefully. Today, we were engaged in that. Considering it’s a big team, we were playing pretty deep. We gave them solutions at the break and they were right in the second.
What do you think is wrong with the forward that prevented them from going up 2-0 in the first half? To increase those possibilities, we work. When a player has two or three heads-up with the goalkeeper and doesn’t score, it’s frustrating because we work a lot on the practice field to get the ball wide and then cross it. I would be more concerned if we weren’t providing opportunities. We recently released a game that we should have won. With our mentality, it is essential that we do well at home. We did not; we fell short today, and all is well. We continue; we will play Bengaluru FC in our next match.
His team has played five games and there have been four defeats. Do you think the team needs changes? Despite playing pretty well in the last 15 minutes, we were beaten by Kerala Blasters FC. We dominated FC Goa in the second half of the second match, which we eventually lost 2-1.
We didn’t play badly in the first half; rather, we created some great opportunities and didn’t take them, which cost us the game. But we need a lot of work, but I don’t think we are a bad team. There is certainly room for improvement, and that is what we intend to do from Saturday.
That doesn’t offer much comfort. What are your thoughts?
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It’s no consolation, I say. I’m telling you the truth because you seem to think you can go from having no chance to being a championship contender in three, four or five games. That never happens in any league. We get players quite late in the game who might not have played for the other teams. The players were extremely late for us. While everyone else was a month or two ahead, we started pre-season in early August. These are not justifications. Such are the facts.
As a result, starting late requires you to anticipate problems early on, as I’ve already mentioned. More problems will arise for us. But perhaps, with patience, we can solve such problems. However, given the start we’ve had, it can’t be done in one week, two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, or even five weeks. It is a fact, not a justification.
How can you comfort them and keep them on board with the team? We are aware that hard work is required. We are aware that we must improve. We are making a great effort. We lost a game today that we had a chance to win. You can argue that we had a chance to beat FC Goa in the second half.
The first games had an important contribution from Alex (Lima). Does it affect your ability to win games when he’s not around? During the first minute of FC Goa’s second match, Alex suffered an injury. For 75 minutes, he continued. In the next game, we prevailed. We collaborate and play well as a team. He was kept off the team due to a minor hamstring problem. But Alex is an extremely talented athlete. All players, both foreign and Indian, are required. Not only one player is involved.
