Moosa wants his team to be serious till the final whistle after dropping points against Hyderabad...
Bengaluru interim coach Naushad Moosa was left feeling disappointed after his team conceded two late goals in last four minutes of normal time to drop points against Hyderabad on Thursday.
Sunil Chhetri's header from a free-kick and a composed Leon Augustine strike had given the Blues a healthy two-goal advantage. However, Aridane Santana and Fran Sandaza struck late to deny the Blues a win that they have been chasing for the last eight games.
After the game, Moosa said, "It is heartbreaking to concede two goals in four minutes. The way they played, they showed character. That's what we have been struggling with this season - switching off and conceding easy goals."
Moosa confirmed that defender Juanan will miss the next game with a hamstring injury. The Blues will also be without the services of Erik Paartalu due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
The Indian coach also refuted a suggestion that his team is struggling with fitness. "I don't want to say fitness is a problem. It is just that we have to be more cautious. We have to be serious till the final whistle. They have been doing well, they had a good game. But it's just that fraction of a second."
Despite the disappointing result, Moosa praised the impact of Leon Augustine who took advantage of a Hyderabad error and finished with aplomb to score his team's second goal.
"I had a chat with him (Leon). I had a feeling that he is going to score, with the way Rai and Mishra overlapping. I wanted to take advantage of that. And he did well and really went for the goal and he badly needed that goal, just for his confidence."