“Have to be strong enough in defence”: Carles Cuadrat after East Bengal’s 2-1 loss against Kerala

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India]: After East Bengal FC’s disappointing 2-1 loss against Kerala Blasters FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Saturday, Red and Gold head coach Carles Cuadrat said that they need to be strong in defence in their upcoming games.

Cuadrat said that they have created enough chances to get goals against the Kerala Blasters. He added that they are not strong enough in that part of the game.

“I think that we created enough chances to get goals. If you see in the first half, in the second half, at the end, I don’t have the numbers with me. But the suggestion is that we were creating some good chances. But then, of course, you have to be strong enough in defence. And the two halves we showed and we are not strong enough in that part of the game. We cannot concede two goals in that way,” Cuadrat said in the post-match press conference.

The Red and Gold head coach praised Cleiton Silva’s penalty shoot and said that he is very happy with it since it shows that Silva is here for the team as a captain.

“I’m happy for Cleiton to shoot the penalty because it shows that he’s here for the team as a captain. We have to accept that we can make mistakes, all of us. And in the end, he’s keeping the work with the right attitude. So finally, he’s gone. So the message is, don’t give up,” he added.

Cuadrat further added that they are going to take advantage of all the time and players have to take one step ahead and show everybody that they deserve to be in the club.

“Of course, we’re going to take advantage of all time. I think that the situation is just mental. The players have to take one step ahead and show everybody that they deserve to be in that club and that they are ready to fight for the points,” he concluded.

The Kerala-based franchise opened the scoreline after Japanese winger Daisuke Sakai scored his first goal of the season in the 32nd minute of the game.

The Red and Golds missed a golden opportunity to equalize the game when Brazilian forward and East Bengal skipper Cleiton Silva missed from the spot. Kerala sealed their victory in the 88th minute when Dimitrios Diamantakos found the back of the net.

In the final minute of added time, Silva managed to convert his second attempt from the penalty spot for a consolation goal in the home match.