ISL 2023-24: We need to find the maturity to manage games better – East Bengal FC head coach Carles Cuadrat

East Bengal FC head coach Carles Cuadrat feels they need to find the maturity to manage games better. Cuadrat shared the disappointment after his team suffered a 2-1 loss against FC Goa at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.

Mahesh Naorem Singh found the back of the net in the 41st minute to put the Red and Gold Brigade in front. However, the Gaurs were able to bounce back after Sandesh Jhingan and Victor Rodriguez scored for them.

“It was working very well for us in the first half, we were following the match plan,” Cuadrat said in the post-match press conference.

“We were trying to go in front and trying to be compact in the defence, but it is true that in the second half, we started to lose the ball very easily. We were trying to cover half of the pitch with Nishu (Kumar) and Borja (Herrera) in the middle of the pitch trying to help Saul (Crespo), but just the set-piece changed everything and then we switched off for a few minutes and it is incredible that they scored the goals within one minute. I think that we are in the middle of a new project with a lot of new players. I think that we need to find the maturity to manage the game better. I think that this was a very tough lesson for us.”

The Spaniard feels the team needs to be ready for different match situations and they need to come up with a collective effort.

“We don’t have a lot of time between games so we have to be ready to manage that kind of game from the mental side,” he added. “I want to convince my players that we will get better at managing games against tough teams like FC Goa and Bengaluru FC.”

Cuadrat believes they need to be patient with the team as they have new players and they will take some time to get the desired results.

“We have to understand that this is a new team with a new coach and new tactics. I accept that we need to be more active and be confident. My message to the fans is to be patient because in this game and the last few games, I saw some good moments from the team and I was happy with those moments. There is a lot to learn from these last few games,” Cuadrat concluded.

East Bengal FC will aim to get back to winning ways in their upcoming matches.