ATK Mohun Bagan secured a 2-0 victory over NorthEast United FC in the 46th match of Hero ISL 2020-21 at the Fatorda Stadium of Goa’s Margao on Sunday.
A goal from Roy Krishna and an own goal from Suhair Vadakkepeedika in the second half helped ATK Mohun Bagan to victory.
ATK Mohun Bagan’s head coach Antonio Lopez Habas has expressed his satisfaction over his team’s performance in the Indian Super League (ISL) match.
“We played a good match against NorthEast United FC. In the first half, the match was more balanced but in the second half we were more superior,” Habas said at the post-match press conference.
According to a match report, the Highlanders put up a strong fight against the Mariners but couldn’t stop them from going top of the league table.
However, a cause of concern for Habas might be that ATK Mohun Bagan has scored only one goal in the first half this season.
The Spaniard put this down to the absence of spectators in the stadiums.
“Sometimes it’s very difficult to play with the same intensity without the fans in the stadium. I think this is very important (to play with fans in the stadium),” Habas said.
Meanwhile, NorthEast United FC’s head coach Gerard Nus was concerned about his team’s winless run of five games now.
“We are concerned because we want to win. We want to have a competitive season. We are building a team for the future with a lot of young players so it takes time to build up. Every training game is a chance for us to get better,” Nus said after the match.
Nus lauded his opponents but also took some positives from the result.
“We played the same way in both halves but the difference was the details in our box. The set-pieces cost us the game. We played against a great opposition,” said Nus.
“They are on top of the league for a reason. A lot of credit to them, but I can see a lot of positives from our side. We will keep working and we are thinking about [the next game against] Hyderabad,” said the Spaniard.