Punjab FC head coach Staikos Vergetis was left with mixed feelings after his side's 3-3 draw against Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday.

Punjab FC took an early lead with a goal by Nikhil Prabhu in the 19th minute. Harsh Patre quickly equalised for Bengaluru FC in the following minute. However, Vergetis' side remained resilient and added two more goals through Dimitrios Chatziisaias and Luka Majcen in the 26th and 30th minutes, respectively.

Bengaluru FC's Curtis Main narrowed the deficit just before the end of the first half with a stoppage-time goal. Javi Hernandez then equalised for Bengaluru FC in the 67th minute. The game concluded in a 3-3 draw after 90 minutes.

After the game, Vergetis found himself grappling with mixed emotions as his team posed a continuous challenge for Bengaluru FC throughout the game.

Despite their early goals, they faltered in maintaining the lead and ended up conceding three goals to Bengaluru FC, with two being avoidable.

“On one side I am happy with the effort of our players against a big team with players of very good quality. They were competitive, put the opponent in a difficult situation and had faith in the game plan so I am satisfied,” Vergetis stated at the post-match press conference.

“On the other side, I am sad because of the way we conceded the goals. We conceded the first goal after good combination play from Bengaluru FC, however, we could have avoided conceding the next two goals,” he added.

Punjab FC have played eight games so far this season and has only managed to secure four points, as their quest for the first win in the ISL continues.

Vergetis does not want to dwell on his side's first win all the time. He believes that positive performance is a much more important factor that will eventually lead to victories.

“We need not think about our first win all the time. The most important thing for me is the performance of the team,” Vergetis commented.

“The players need to trust in the plan, be better defensively and the win will come,” he added.

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Punjab FC2023-2024