Former Blasters assistant coach Trevor Morgan disappointed with result
Kolkata: Atletico de Kolkata defender Arnab Mondal rued not being part of his side’s celebrations after they won their second Indian Super League (ISL) title by beating Kerala Blasters 4-3 on penalties on Sunday.
The match ended 1-1 after regulation time with man of the match Henrique Sereno (44th) and Mohammed Rafi (37th) scoring for ATK and Kerala respectively in the first half.
Arnab, who was at the East Bengal ground today morning to meet Coach Trevor James Morgan spoke to the media. According to the ATK defender, “It is disappointing to miss the semis and final. But nevertheless I am happy to see my teammates winning the trophy.”
Asked to comment on the secret behind Atletico’s success, Arnab stressed on the importance of team unity and spirit.
“The team spirit has been the biggest positive for our side. It is like a family as we constantly help each other. To win the title twice speaks volumes of the consistency.”
He further added, “I feel so with them at the moment. It’s an amazing win keeping in mind the effort we put in throughout the tournament,” said Mondal who has been an important cog in the city franchise’s wheel.
Asked to name the key moments in the season, the local lad underlined two away league games against NorthEast United FC and FC Goa where the team rallied from a goal down to win.
“In the NorthEast match the way we came back was phenomenal. We were so charged up as a unit that day. That match brought us together. Then the FC Goa match where (Stephen) Pearson scored in the last minute to clinch all three points.
“These are vital wins which helped us reach the knockout stages which the coach (Jose Molina) always said is vital and our only aim,” Mondal said.
The defender is expecting to be back in action after the first 3-4 matches of I League. He will be meeting East Bengal club’s new phyio Simon Maltby tomorrow who will analyse his injury.
East Bengal coach Trevor James Morgan heaped high praises on Arnab, saying his leadership in the defence will be missed for the first few matches.
“We got Gurwinder and other replacements within the squad. We will miss Arnab because he is a good player. He is a leader on the pitch. He organizes things out in the middle and he is someone you can depend on. But injuries are part and parcel of the game,” said Morgan on Arnab’s absence.
Talking about last night’s ISL final, the former assistant coach of Kerala Blasters said, “Yeah, I feel sorry for the supporters. When it goes to penalty shootout, it’s anybody’s game. They should be proud of making the finals twice in three years.”
The British coach did not seem to be impressed with the quality of football in the final. According to Morgan, “It was a very tight game. Both teams will be disappointed with the goals they have conceded from set pieces. The goal Kolkata scored, you normally have people guarding the posts. May be someone switched off and didn’t do their job properly. That can happen as lack of concentration for one second can sometimes prove to be very costly.”
The gaffer disagreed with others saying the standard of ISL has not dipped.
“It’s difficult to compare. In the first season the key players were all big names even they were on the wrong side of 35 years but still top players. May be the marquee players this season are not so high profile. But I don’t think the standard has gone down at all. I think the Indian players have shown a massive improvement playing with the better foreign players. I think it’s been a good competition.”