Chennaiyin FC snatched a point when they equalised a minute from time to secure a 1 – 1 draw against Jamshedpur FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 on Sunday. Substitute Mohammed Rafi scored with a looping header to ensure that the 2015 Hero ISL champions maintained their third spot in the league standings, after falling behind to Wellington Priori’s first-half screamer. After the final whistle, indiansuperleague.com caught up with goal-scorer Rafi to find out his thoughts on the match and his winner. Here are the excerpts.

How important was your goal?

It was a very important goal for us, as it was a home game for us. The next match for us is in Kerala, which is an away game. So this was very important as we got one point and I am grateful for that. I will prepare for the next match from now on.

Do you practice those headers?

I do practice a lot. I also practice crosses and on the field, I am able to get it right. Thank God for that!

Talk us through your goal.

Every one of us is committed. Jeje (Lalpekhlua) is upfront as the attacker and when the ball comes from a cross, all of us defenders and midfielders get inside the box to score. That’s how the coach has guided us during the practice.

How motivated were you for the second half?

We conceded a goal but we were focused and the fans supported us. We scored in the 89th minute and that felt good.

Your thoughts on the remainder of the season?

As you can see, Bengaluru FC has 34 points and we are on 28. So if we win, we’ll be on 31 and we want to be around the second or third position.