Punjab FC head coach Panagiotis Dilmperis has opened up his team’s playoff chances after a 1-2 loss against Chennaiyin FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai in the ongoing Indian Super League on Saturday. 

After this loss, Punjab FC have managed a solitary win in their last 11 games. The Shers were one of the favorites to qualify for the playoff stages for the first time in the ISL but now their path to the last six is looking challenging.

Meanwhile, Wilmar Jordan Gil scored from a spot kick in the 19th minute for the hosts but the visitors equalized as Luka Majcen scored in the 48th minute. Nigerian striker Daniel Chima Chikwu scored in the 84th minute to score the match-winning goal for the home team.

“I think we were very active in the second half, with a lot of quick actions and quick decisions. We brought the game to the spot that we wanted to bring it,” Dilmperis said during the post-match press conference.

“This is what we were trying to do. We knew that the full-backs of Chennaiyin FC would have issues because they were not their regular players. So, we wanted to go one vs one there, and we took advantage of this. We serviced the ball in. We managed to score one goal. But at the same time, I still remember five chances lost from Luka and a couple from Giakoumakis and also Pulga. Even after the 2-1 scoreline, we have three chances for scoring,” he added.

The gaffer reckons his team lacked motivation despite it being an all but must-win game for them and admitted their game was slow.

“From the beginning, we were the team that was supposed to have the bigger motivation for this game. We were trying to qualify. Our game was really slow and we never found except two chances with Filip. We never found Chennaiyin FC’s defence not compact. Most of the time we went slow and they managed to stay compact,” he emphasized.

Punjab FC will next face East Bengal FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi on Saturday.