Chennaiyin FC drew 1-1 with FC Goa in the first leg of the second semi-final of Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 on Saturday. Manuel Lanzarote scored the first goal of the night but substitute Anirudh Thapa equalised for the 2015 champions to give them a crucial away goal.

Commenting on if Chennai were pleased with the result, Gregory stated: “When I look at the scoring opportunities we had, we could’ve done better and got a 3-0 advantage. To be fair, we had clear opportunities, where we were one-on-one with the goalkeeper (Laxmikant) Kattimani, and to be fair to him, he did a fantastic job. He made some very good saves and I think his team should thank him for making those kinds of saves because that’s what kept the tie alive.”

He continued: “He almost kept a clean sheet till the end. We managed to get a goal but up until then, he performed very well. I am very disappointed in many respects. I have to talk to some of my players just to get their chins off their chests. Disappointed with the chances we had, which we didn’t take. But at the end of the match, I was very happy to come away with a 1-1 draw. I think it’s six matches now that we are unbeaten and as you saw, my players keep on going no matter what happens.”

When asked about the physicality in the contest, the 63-year-old said: “I think we finished strongly. The substitutions we made also certainly helped. One or two (players) started to tire and we managed to get two sets of fresh legs on. It’s a team game for us. We do not have any stars or individuals and we play collectively together. There is something when you’re playing continuously over a short period of time. We went through a period where we played five games in 17 days, which was a huge task for us. But I rested a lot of players in our last game, giving young players a chance.”

As far as his forwards were concerned, Gregory said: “We are not as creative as Goa, it’s as simple as that. Our players work in a good system, where they all complement each other and work very hard for each other. And we get the best out of every player, in whatever position they play. Obviously, Goa is a passing team. They pass from the goalkeeper to right across the back four and are very comfortable in possession. We, on the other hand, are rebuilding.”

“We play in a slightly different way than Goa. Nevertheless, we make sure that we make it difficult for the opposition to play against us. Every team in the league will testify that you get nothing easy when you play against us because all the players work so hard on the field. We had those flashes of brilliance as you saw from Gregory Nelson, who brilliantly assisted Anirudh Thapa. It’s a priceless away goal for us,” he added.

Gregory also revealed how they contained Ferran Corominas and Manuel Lanzarote. “We have a lot of respect for Lanzarote and Corominas. The goals that they have scored this season, many of them have been incredible and spectacular goals. Together they have a very good understanding, similar to Marcelinho and (Emiliano) Alfaro at Pune,” he said.

The Englishman concluded: “They know each other’s games, they play off each other and they are a constant danger. Having said that, both Mailson (Alves) and (Henrique) Sereno did a great job against them. Lanzarote did manage to score from a rebound but defensively, we were very aware of them. We did give more attention to them than other strikers in Hero ISL because they are very special, and the team is very lucky to have them. Goa is a very difficult team to play against.”