The Bengaluru interim coach was happy to finally get three points after eight winless matches...
Bengaluru finally ended their eight-game winless streak with a convincing 2-0 win over East Bengal on Tuesday in an Indian Super League (ISL) clash.
The Blues managed to keep a clean sheet after over a month and interim coach Naushad Moosa was happy to see his players' fighting spirit on the pitch.
"To tell you the truth, more than me, I am so happy for the players," said Moosa after the match. "They were fighting till the final whistle and it was really nice to see that. The mentality was really nice."
Moosa revealed that Bengaluru's plan was to play using counter-attacks and remain compact against East Bengal.
"The plan was to stay compact and counter in the first half and utilize the chances that we get. We are lucky we got two goals. It was not that we had to sit back in the second, we wanted to play football. It was okay for me to play the long ball behind the defence," said the Bengaluru boss.
Leon Augustin limped off the ground in the first half itself and Parag Srivas replaced him on the left flank. The Bengaluru head coach hailed Srivas' versatility who usually plays as a full-back.
"We need to have a look at Leon (Augustin), he has a hamstring injury. Parag played as a left midfielder and did his job really well, this is what we are looking for from young players."
Pratik Chaudhari returned to the defence after having spent several games out of the first team lineup and the former Air India coach clarified that he had absolutely no problems with Indian defender.
"He was having problems adjusting with the team due to his position. I asked him to be happy and give his best and that really worked," claimed Moosa.
The Bengaluru boss once again admitted that not having a quality striker is hurting the team but hailed the performance of Sunil Chhetri and Udanta Singh upfront against East Bengal.
"The problem with Bengaluru this year is (not) having a proper number 9 and the left-wing was getting exposed a lot. So my main focus was to block that left wing and have someone hold the ball upfront, it has really worked for us," Moosa signed off.