Mohun Bagan Super Giant head coach Jose Molina revealed he was happy with his team’s performance despite a lackluster win in the Kolkata Derby in the Indian Super League (ISL) on Saturday.

Mohun Bagan SG secured a 1-0 victory over rivals East Bengal FC, completing the double over them thanks to Jamie Maclaren’s early goal. The win extended their lead at the top of the standings to eight points, leaving second-placed Bengaluru FC further behind, who went down to Mohammedan Sporting Club earlier in the day.

Despite the win, Mohun Bagan SG could have scored more goals, had it not been for missed chances and some key saves from East Bengal FC goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill. Molina acknowledged that while the result was not ideal in terms of goal-scoring, securing the three points was the key.

“Yes (it is a fair result). We missed our chances but to get better results you have to score goals. We were not good enough to score more goals. We had the chances but finally you have to put the ball inside, right, touching the net. We did it. We are happy because we got three points. Three important points. We won over our rivals, we won the derby. We would have been maybe happier if we scored more goals because we had the chances. At the end, not our day but the important thing is the three points. Three more points on the table. Closer to the main goal, that is to win the Shield,” he said in the post-match press conference.

East Bengal FC were reduced to 10 men early in the second half when Souvik Chakrabarti was booked. Despite the numerical disadvantage, the Red & Gold Brigade defended valiantly and put pressure on the Mariners in the final stages of the game.

Reacting to that, Molina said: “We started to play worse when East Bengal FC received a red card. With one more player, our level decreased and we did not play clearly. Even despite that we had some counterattacks, some good actions where we could score more goals but no good decision in the final third.. In the last minutes, we suffered a little bit because they moved the ball, put the ball (in the box), put crosses and they sent balls to the box. But (our) two centre-backs, the full-backs, the goalkeeper were great. To be honest, they didn’t have a great opportunity to score a goal and draw the match. We controlled it.. I'm happy with the team's performance. Maybe not so happy with the last minutes. But I think we did a great job to win another derby. Three more points and opening up (the gap) with the rest of the teams.”

The Kolkata Derby, held at Guwahati’s Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, saw only a handful of fans from Kolkata in attendance. The first derby in Kolkata had nearly 60,000 fans filling the stadium. Despite the stark difference in crowd size and atmosphere, Molina acknowledged the significance of the result for the fans back in Kolkata.

“We missed our fans in the stands. The atmosphere in the first derby in Kolkata was amazing. It was great. The impact of that atmosphere on the players was huge. It’s not the same to play in an empty stadium with little support. My players, of course, and East Bengal FC players too, tried to win, and I told the players before the match: ‘Not too many supporters in the stands, but a lot of people in Kolkata are pushing us up and supporting us. We have to win for them.’ And finally, we did our job.”

“I can tell our fans, we missed them. We would have liked to play in front of them. We fought for them, and I hope they can enjoy the victory. I’m waiting for them for the next match,” Molina added.