“Whole team made mistakes”: Northeast United FC coach after loss to Odisha

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India]: Following Northeast United’s 1-0 loss to Odisha FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Friday, the Highlanders head coach Juan Pedro Benali said that the whole team made mistakes in the game.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Benali said that the problem was that they didn’t finish the actions when they arrived in the area. He added that the Highlanders could have drawn the game against Odisha FC instead of losing 1-0.

“It’s not only because the goalkeeper made the mistake (for the first goal), the whole team made mistakes. First half, we were not here (mentally), we stayed in Guwahati. We were all over the place, we didn’t play. We did absolutely nothing.

What to work, what to (do). It was not us. It was not Northeast United FC. Second half, we made the changes and the team changed totally with Romain (Philippoteaux) and Pragyan Gogoi. We got chances. We knew they were tired and (knew) they couldn’t go (around running). But the problem is that we didn’t finish the actions when we arrived in the area.

We could draw (the game). This is football,” Benali said in the post-match press conference.

Benali then apologised to the fans for their disappointing performance in the first half against Odisha. He added that the fans don’t deserve to see the team play like this.

“We’re sorry (to the fans) for the first half (performance). They don’t deserve (to see) the team play like this in the first half, including me,” he expressed.

While analysing the team’s performance in the second half, Benali said that they can go far if they continue to play like the way performed in the last half of the game.

“In the second half, we were NorthEast United FC. Proud of our players (for the way they performed in the second half). Fantastic. If we go and play like we did in the second half, we can go far away. If we play like we did in the first half, we will go nowhere,” Benali concluded.

Odisha FC took the lead in the 37th minute of the game through Diego Mauricio after an error by NorthEast United FC goalkeeper Mirshad Michu. Odisha FC dominated the first half, but Northeast United FC made a comeback in the second half.

They pushed the hosts onto the back foot and created numerous opportunities to get back into the game but struggled to find the back of the net.