ISL 2022-23: We deserved a point against ATK Mohun Bagan: NorthEast United FC head coach Marco Balbul

NorthEast United FC head coach Marco Balbul feels his team at least deserved a point after they suffered a 2-1 loss against ATK Mohun Bagan at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata on Thursday.

Balbul rued the fact they could not take their chances throughout the match and feels it led to their downfall. The Highlanders took three shots on target but could only convert one into a goal.

The team’s head coach feels a point would have given them a lot of confidence but it wasn’t to be. NorthEast United have got off to a poor start as they have lost all of their six matches so far.

Marco Balbul said in the post-match press conference while sharing his thoughts on the game, “We deserved a point because we created good chances to score and we scored a good goal. But in the last minute, we conceded a goal from a set piece, and unfortunately, we lost our concentration and we lost a point.”

He added, “It would have been a massive three points for us after five losses, and it would have been a new way to go forward for my team. I do not like to speak about luck, but everything in the game went against us. We wasted a lot of chances to score goals, and then conceded late in the game.”

Balbul feels both the goals that ATK Mohun Bagan scored were gifts that his team gave to the opposition and they deserved more from the game.

He concluded, “There was nothing in the first half, but the late goal was a gift. We worked very hard on the pitch, and it was an individual mistake. We lost the ball in the crucial area. We should not give big teams gifts like that and we should have done better with the ball. We should be more confident when we have the ball. We know the key to ATK Mohun Bagan is their counter-attack, and for me, both goals that they scored were gifts.”

It has been a disappointing season for the Highlanders as they have failed to come up with a collective show on the pitch. Furthermore, they also haven’t had the rub of the green on their side.

NorthEast United FC will next face Mumbai City FC on 25th November at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati.