xtratime Logo

[caption id="attachment_42600" align="aligncenter" width="580"] Mohun Bagan lost to Aizawl FC by 1-0 on Saturday. Inmage Source: AIFF[/caption] Aizawl, Sabyasachi Bagchi: After losing the title-deciding clash against Aizawl FC, Mohun Bagan coach Sanjoy Sen claimed that they were clearly the better team and it was disappointing to lose the battle in the end. Sanjoy Sen told in the post match press conference, "The better team lost today. It happens in football. We were clearly the better team today. We dominated the game. But we conceded late and that proved to be the decider." Bagan coach said his team was denied a penalty when Jeje was brought down in the Aizawl penalty box in the 4th minute. But he had no complaints against the quality of refereeing. “Luck was not in our favour and we should have got that penalty. But hats off to Aizawl for a good game; our boys played well too. Today was one of those days when the result does not reflect the performance,” Sen said. The Bagan team, he said, had stuck to the plan of preventing Al-Amna and Rane from building up the attack from the midfield. “It worked for most part of the game.” Sen had a word of praise for the footballing acumen of people in Mizoram. “We never felt like (we were) playing an away game. The crowd was very sporting, and this match was a great advertisement for football in India.” All, however, was not lost, Sen said. “We now have a must-win match against Chennai City on April 30.” For Aizawl coach Khalid Jamil, the victory was the perfect birthday gift. He turned 40 on Friday. “A 2-0 win would have been ideal, but the bottom line is we won a tough game. It is a great achievement for the boys who put in a lot of hard work while enjoying every moment on the field,” he said. The victory, Jamil said, wiped out some failures and “bad memories” of the past. Mumbai FC had relieved him as coach after the 2015-16 season. “I did not know any of the Aizawl players when I took charge before this I-League season. Frankly, I did not expect the team to come this far. The boys have made me proud,” he said. But, he cautioned, the celebration will come only after the away match with Shillong Lajong in Meghalaya capital Shillong on April 30. “Our focus has shifted to the last match, a real tricky one,” he said. Bagan member and Aizawl's Head Coach in youth development, Jahar Das said, "I got surprised to see Mohun Bagan today. A team who is challenging for the title played only 45 minutes. Then they got outplayed. I have been associated with Mohun Bagan for the last forty years and have never seen this thing to happen. My team Aizawl played on our strengths and Khalid did a great job with the academy products. He might be called up for the youth development next season. You never know." Aizawl would be going into their final match with two of their main players – captain and midfielder Alfred Jaryan and defender Ashutosh Mehta – suspended after receiving their fourth yellow cards for the season during Saturday’s match with Bagan.