Mohun Bagan Super Giant head coach Jose Molina rued his side’s missed chances as his team went down against Jamshedpur FC in the first leg of the Indian Super League (ISL) semi-final on Thursday.

Jamshedpur FC broke the deadlock at the JRD Tata Sports Complex, taking the lead through Javier Siverio before Jason Cummings restored parity for MBSG with a free-kick. The Mariners took control of the game in the second half and despite dominating possession, struggled to convert their chances. It came back to haunt them as Javier Hernandez struck late in injury time, handing the Men of Steel a crucial advantage heading into the second leg in Kolkata. Molina admitted the result could have been different had his side killed the game early in the second half.

“In the first half, we had possession but we didn’t finish the actions too much. The second half was still better and with more chances, it's true that with some points, the saves and the defenders broke (the play), but okay, when you play against a team with a line of six or seven, it’s not easy to score and finish the action. We played well. We had the chances. Clear chances. In the beginning of the second half, we had absolute two clear chances to score two goals and with 1-3 the match was over. But we didn’t score and finally, in the last minute, they took advantage of one counter-attack. We have to accept that. They played their cards and they were successful,” he said in the post-match press conference.

MBSG will play the return leg on Monday at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata. They have had the joint-best home record in the league stage with 11 wins and went undefeated at home this season. They will look to produce a positive result and make the final for the third consecutive time.

“Every time we play at home, it’s a pleasure for us. Not pressure. In front of our fans, it's amazing. Do you know what it’s like to play in Salt Lake with 50,000 or 30-40,000 fans? It depends on the match, but in the next match, there will be a lot of fans. They will be supporting us and pushing us. No way that is pressure,” Molina responded.

Lalengmawia Ralte and Manvir Singh, two players instrumental to MBSG’s Shield triumph this season, missed the game due to injuries. Sahal Abdul Samad was handed a start, with Anirudh Thapa slotting into midfield alongside Deepak Tangri. Despite the absentees, Molina expressed satisfaction with the way his team performed against a resilient defensive side.

“We did some different things. But I'm absolutely happy with Sahal’s performance and that we found a different way to play in attack. The only thing is that we played against a good team that defends well and deep, and it’s not easy to play against teams who defend in that way. Even with that being really difficult, we still had some clear chances to win the match and to score. Sometimes you are not successful in front of goal.. That’s football. But in terms of performance, I am happy. We can still play better but I’m happy with the performance after not playing a match for 20-25 days.. We have to keep going. I'm absolutely sure in four days, it will be a different result in Salt Lake,” he said.