ISL 2023-24: We were unstoppable in the second half – Punjab FC’s Staikos Vergetis after win against East Bengal FC

Punjab FC head coach Staikos Vergetis was delighted to end the season on a high after their comprehensive win of 4-1 against East Bengal FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi on Wednesday. The Greek manager said they were unstoppable in the second half of the game.

The Shers took a lead in the 19th minute with Wilmar Jordan scoring. But their lead was neutralized as Sayan Banerjee equalized after six minutes. However, Madih Talal was able to put his team back in front as he scored at the cusp of halftime.

Punjab FC strengthened their grip on the match in the second half as Wilmar Jordan scored his second goal of the evening. Subsequently, Luka Majcen scored in the 70th minute to give them a 4-1 lead.

“Regarding the game, I think that the team worked the plan that we had put in a very good way, and to a very high level in all the phases of the game. We had a little problem in the first half with the transitions, but we fixed that during one internal change,” stated Vergetis after the game.

He added, “But in the second half, we were unstoppable, and we scored, and we could have scored more goals. The team showed that they have one dynamic.”

Meanwhile, the Shers ended their season after conceding 35 goals, second most after Hyderabad FC (40). But they also found the back of the net on 28 occasions.

Addressing this problem, the Greek tactician shared, “This is true, that we conceded goals from one region, a very, very small region. One second, one loss of concentration (and we conceded). And we paid for this throughout the league. This happened today. But the good thing that we had is that when we received a goal, we didn’t give up and we tried much more.”

Vergetis reckons they could have qualified for the playoffs had they performed a bit better in the last few games.

“I am happy with the score, but in the last few games, in some details, we missed the chance to go to the sixth position. And this gives us a sense of sadness,” he signed off.