Mohun Bagan Super Giant assistant coach Manuel Cascallana expressed his delight at securing all three points in a must-win match against Punjab FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi on Saturday.

The Mariners clinched a narrow 1-0 victory, keeping their League Shield aspirations alive while also dashing the playoff hopes of the Shers.

Forward Dimitri Petratos found the back of the net for the away side in the 42nd minute. This result propelled Mohun Bagan Super Giant back into the second position on the league table, ahead of FC Goa in third.

"Well, it was a difficult game. We knew that we needed the three points, whatever it takes. It doesn't matter how we play, how we attack, or how we defend. The most important thing is that we should leave Delhi with three points in our bag. And that's what we did. So we are really happy to continue the race to lift the League Shield," he said.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant could have netted a couple more goals if their forwards had capitalized on the opportunities they got.

Cascallana offered insights from their performance in the game and highlighted areas for improvement in the upcoming matches.

He stated, "Well, in the second half, we should keep the ball more, controlling the game because they had clear chances, and they came because of our mistakes, which we don't want. We aim to control the game, possess the ball, and attack our opposition. We have to improve a little bit on that and also be more clinical in the final third because we could have scored two or three clear chances with Manvir Singh, Jason Cummings, or Liston Colaco."

The Mariners returned to winning ways after experiencing their first defeat in the second half of the season against Chennaiyin FC at home.

The assistant coach emphasized the significance of the victory against Punjab FC and how it will bolster the players' mentality for the upcoming matches.

"It was really important to get the three points for our morale, to keep training hard, and to forget our defeat against Chennaiyin FC as soon as possible," he shared.

Abhishek Suryavanshi has become a regular in the first XI since Antonio Lopez Habas took charge of the side, and the young midfielder has been performing admirably in his assigned role.

However, the Spaniard felt that Suryavanshi's performance could have been better against the Shers.

"Well, I'm not impressed at all with Abhishek's performance because we've known him since 2019. I remember our first year here, my first year in Kolkata when we were playing against the reserve team and Abhishek was there. I recall attending a few academy matches to watch him, and we knew he had something special. Now, he has the confidence of Coach Antonio Lopez Habas, the staff, and all the players, and he's improving every day. The most important thing is that he has the desire to improve. He wants to become one of the best Indian players, and right now, he's a very important player for us. At only 23 years old, he's delivering great performances. Hopefully, he can continue to improve game by game," Cascallana opined.

Related tags:

Mohun Bagan Super GiantPunjab FC2023-2024