NorthEast United FC succumbed to their seventh defeat of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 season when they went down 2 – 1 to Bengaluru FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday. Juanan’s opener for the Blues was cancelled out by Marcinho’s equaliser from the spot, but Bengaluru skipper Sunil Chhetri made most of a defensive error to fire home the winner in the second half.

The Highlanders’ head coach Avram Grant addressed the media post the match and expressed his disappointment at the loss. “In the second half, we were the better side,” remarked Grant. “We created a lot of chances, especially from the sides. Then one mistake and we lost the game. I think the game deserved a draw, but football is a game about whoever scores, wins. I am not happy, but what can we do?”

The Israeli also rued the missed opportunities that could have changed the outcome of the game. “In football, there are lots of ways to score goals,” he stated. “You can score from set-pieces, you can score from combinations and you can score from mistakes of other teams. Bengaluru is a good team, but I think we managed to stop them except for one chance in the first half. Otherwise, we created a lot of chances.”

He further added, “Our last pass was not too good and they scored from one mistake of ours. The cross was not good, but it touched the leg of our player and we were unlucky. The first goal was a set-piece and even we ourselves scored from a penalty. It was a game of a lot of chances, but it was a game that should have been a draw I think. But, in football, scoring is winning; doesn’t matter how.”

The 62-year-old also admitted having been aware of Bengaluru’s strength from set-plays. “We knew they score a lot of goals from set-pieces, we knew their targets and we were prepared for this,” revealed Grant. “We knew they targeted the tall players. They did well. The delivery was good and we did not mark well. That was the first goal. We had two good corners from which we could not score and that’s what set-pieces are about.”

The former Chelsea FC manager concluded by stating that his team deserved at least a point from the game. “The other team was not better than us,” he opined. “So, we need to improve a lot of things. In general, the team is progressing very well and this is why I am unhappy at not having at least taken a point, that we deserved.”