Chennaiyin FC head coach Bozidar Bandovic was made to rue missed chances as his team were held to a goalless draw by SC East Bengal in a Hero Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Tilak Maidan stadium in Vasco, Goa.

The draw meant Chennaiyin FC went to the top of the table even though it ended their perfect start to the season. 

However, Bandovic defended forward Rahim Ali who was guilty of missing chances on the night and praised his players for their efforts and performance level.

Bandovic spoke to the media after the game. Here are the excerpts from his press conference.

You had a lot of chances that were missed today, so are you happy with the result or you think it's two points dropped?

If you look at the game and the chances we created, of course we are not happy with one point because we were the better team, we played better, created a lot of chances and we should win that game. The opponents played with long balls. Defensively we didn't have problems but we are not happy with the result. I'm happy with the way we played, I'm happy with the way we defended, I'm happy that our condition is improving week by week, so we can only be happy and positive about the way we play.

You went to the top of the table with the draw. Was that the top priority or was it winning the game?

The only thing that I'm thinking about along with the players is the next match. I don't look at the table, I just focus on the next match.

Rahim Ali missed a few chances today but do you think it's important to keep playing him to develop him into a top striker?

I think everyone should be happy that one team is supporting and putting a domestic player as the forward. Because without support he can't show what he can do. He had chances and it's a good thing that he had chances but not just from him, we were expecting other players too to convert their chances. But we should not judge him on just one game.

You named an unchanged XI from the last match. Is this your best XI?

No I won't say that. All my players in the squad are good enough to start.