Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s head coach Jose Molina was delighted after their 1-0 win against Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium, Kolkata on Saturday.
After a goalless first half, the Mariners’ striker Jason Cummings scored the decisive goal in the 86th minute. Greg Stewart made a return to the team after recovering from injury but didn’t have the rub of the green on his side as he hit the post on two occasions.
However, Stewart provided the crucial assist to Cummings, who helped the home team in bagging all three points. With this win, Mohun Bagan Super Giant moved to the top of the ISL standings.
At the post-match press conference, Molina reflected on his decision to bring on Cummings and Stewart: “I was happy with the work Jamie Maclaren and Dimitri Petratos were doing. They were not lucky in front of the goal but they worked really well. In the beginning, I thought it could be a good moment for Cummings because Jamie Maclaren was tired. Dimi (Petratos) was doing some good actions but at the end, I gave the chance to Greg (Stewart), hoping something good could happen and it happened. Happy for him, happy for them, Jason Cummings who scored a really good goal. It’s a new step in the league, three more points. Back to the top. We need to keep going for the next match against NorthEast United FC.”
Molina explained his decision to bring on Sahal Abdul Samad and said the opposition made it difficult for them throughout the 90 minutes.
“In my opinion, both teams played really well. Chennaiyin FC was the team that (I) was expecting (to give us a good fight); really tough defence, really aggressive in the 1v1, following us on the pitch with their number five (Elsinho) following Dimi (Petratos) between the lines and not (giving us) too many chances. It’s true that with Apuia and (Anirudh) Thapa, we were not very clear with the ball. That’s why I put Sahal (Abdul Samad) on the pitch. He helped us with the ball, (providing) more and more combinations and actions where we could progress over the pitch,” Molina said.
”Chennaiyin FC put us under pressure with their good defending and attacking. We expected long balls, a lot of crosses. But our centre-backs, full-backs were really good in defending those actions inside the box. I don’t remember at the moment any header from the crosses. Maybe one or two, but we controlled that situation very well. It was a really tough match for both teams. Finally, the team who had more success in front of the goal and, in my opinion, the team who much looked for that luck because we were always trying to attack and look for the goal finally won,” he continued.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant will next take on NorthEast United FC at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati on Sunday.
