Antonio Habas praises Northeast United for their efforts but believes that ATKMB were superior in second leg

ATK Mohun Bagan triumphed over NorthEast United in the second leg of the second Indian Super League semifinals as they won 2-1 on the night and progressed through to the finals with an aggregate score of 3-2.

It looked like a repeat of the first leg as David Williams opened the scoring again at the half-hour mark as Antonio Habas’ men dominated proceedings. Despite their attacking intent in the second half, NorthEast United had no answers when Manvir Singh scored a stunning goal to double the lead.

The Highlanders are known for their fighting spirit and they are not the ones who will go down without fighting therefore VP Suhair pulled one back for Khalid Jamil’s men giving them some chance to come back into the match. Talking about chances, the Highlanders got a golden opportunity to restore parity late in the game when they were awarded a penalty but Luis Machado missed it.

Habas praised the Highlanders but felt that his team was better on the night. He was delighted with the character that his men showed on the night to win a crucial match.

“I am very happy with the performance of the players and the staff. The team has good character,” Habas said after the game.

“Maybe the players think a lot about the final. We didn’t have any problem in the match,” he added.

“We knew that we had to win the match. We didn’t want to go to extra-time. Now the players are tired, there is a lot of humidity and there is the Covid-19. In the first 45 minutes, the team had intensity.”

“NorthEast United had a fantastic season. They had players in attack and defence. Not easy for anyone to win. Today we were superior and better,” the Spaniard said.

Speaking about the preparation for the finals against Mumbai City FC, Habas added, “I want to help the players recover, analyze the situation and compete. This team (Mumbai City FC) has one thing in clear that they are very competitive. It will be very difficult for the opponents.”

Lastly, he also highlighted the season in general and how difficult it has been for the players to stay in quarantine without family and any other distraction. He showered praise for the players for their exceptional mentality throughout the season.

“This season was more difficult. Because the players, technical players were in quarantine. No distraction, family, only 24 hours of football. It is very difficult to keep calm. You will have a fantastic season because the players have (scored) 10 points for their behaviour.”