NorthEast United FC head coach Juan Pedro Benali shared his disappointment after a goalless draw against Kerala Blasters FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi in the ongoing Indian Super League on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Kerala Blasters FC’s Aibanbha Dohling was shown the red card for violent conduct in the 30th minute but the visitors could not make the most of the advantage.
The Highlanders had 54.6% possession and also took six shots on target but they could not find the back of the net. Benali noted that his players were not patient enough and expects his team to improve by learning from their mistakes.
“We didn’t get the goal. Well, Kerala Blasters FC defended very well. We were too in a hurry to arrive. We were not that calm. We were very anxious to score the first goal, and it doesn’t happen like this. We need to be calmer, take the ball side to side, and try to open them,” Benali said in the post-match press conference.
“All the time we tried to penetrate, arriving at the side, just crossing… You have everybody in the back; you cannot just push the ball to push it. We need to learn. We did it many times, and we need that experience to calm down, especially in games like this. We used to play to space; we used to attack the spaces, and when we had a team waiting for us in the back, we were in a hurry; we thought we were dominating, and we were in a hurry all the time to score. And this is what happened,” he analyzed.
Earlier, NorthEast United also shared the spoils against Punjab FC, Mohammedan SC and FC Goa.
Speaking on the recent results, the Spaniard said, “Well, let’s take it the other way. I see the bottle half full; I don’t see it half empty. I’m taking a point.”
“I’m taking a point against Kerala Blasters FC, who won the last game, played very good football, had great players, and had a very good coach. In Kochi, we won a point,” Benali remarked.
“We won a point, and slowly, slowly we are going up. We take a position, we win one point, another point, three points, one point. That’s the most important thing: we didn’t lose. We took a point here, and we are happy with the point,” he continued.
NorthEast United FC will next take on Hyderabad FC at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati on January 29.
