Late drama took the centre stage as East Bengal registered a brilliant comeback win over NorthEast United, albeit courtesy of a nail-biting shootout. Carles Cuadrats side are now in the final of Durand Cup 2023, a feat which they have achieved after a long time.
After the game, the East Bengal head coach spoke to the media. Excerpts are below:
Carles Cuadrat had rested a few players and made some changes in the winning combination from the quarter-final. When quipped about the reasons, he replied, Thats very simple. We played three days ago and we have another match in four days. You saw how the players finished the match. It is pre-season. We have already played five very tough official games. We need to put some fresh legs.
Thats the reason we played Juan Pardo. He played 60 minutes before that, and today we gave him 45 minutes. It was an opportunity for him to play a bit more. Same for Souvik (Chakrabarti) as he was suffering a lot after the games, so he needed rest. Im happy all the players are being involved. Everybody have been giving what they have to give to the team. At the end, we got the result. So, Im happy with the team, he added.
Till the 76th minute, East Bengal were down by two goals and a comeback seemed far from possible. But to everyones surprise the Red & Gold Brigade turned the tables and forced a penalty shootout.
Carles Cuadrat said, Football is a game of narrow margins. When we made it 2-1, we changed the system to a 3-5-2 to apply more pressure. We got the last free-kick and we equalised. I have mentioned earlier that we want to be a team difficult to beat. We have played five games till now three narrow-margin wins and two draws.
He outlined the turning point of the game by saying, This was the first time we were trailing. But we showed that we have that never say die attitude. I am happy to see the change in dynamic. We have started to believe in ourselves. Nothing is done. Both the Durand Cup final and the ISL will be complicated. But I can see in the players the belief that they can turn things around. That was the real turning point.
After the team was trailing, it was a must for Carles Cuadrat to organise his team in order to come back into the game.
He started, Ill be honest. This was the best match for us. We played good football in the first half. Saul Crespo and Juan Pardo combined really very well. But in front of us, we had a very good team (NorthEast United). They had won most games and drawn only one (FC Goa) till now. I am disappointed with the first goal. We have to work on defending set-pieces.
He added, In these type of games, when you bring back a goal, it boosts the confidence. After we went 2-0 down, we tried something new the combination of Cleiton Silva and Javier Siverio. Cleiton isnt fully fit. But we took that risk. We finally got the equaliser. Im happy for the experience the players have earned today. Its a learning game for them. We have to rest a bit and prepare for the final.
Picture Courtesy: Emami East Bengal Media Team
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