ISL 2022-23: Bengaluru FC ended FC Goa's season with a 3-1 conquest, allowing Odisha FC to seal its playoff berth. Meanwhile, BFC boss Simon Grayson hailed his boys for distinguishing between confidence and over-confidence.
Former champion Bengaluru FC (BFC) secured its eighth straight victory to its comeback story and established a top-four finish with a 3-1 success over FC Goa (FCG) in the 2022-23 Indian Super League on Thursday at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. Sivasakthi Narayanan added a couple more goals to his season's tally. Pablo Perez scored the third for the Blues, ending Goa's playoff race and ensuring Odisha FC's (OFC's) admission as the sixth and final side in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, BFC head coach Simon Grayson was impressed by his boys' performance and credited them for drawing the line between confidence and over-confidence. "There's a fine line between confidence and overconfidence, and we have to maintain that level of humility and level-headedness, which certainly won't come from me. They will have their recovery on Sunday, and then we will prepare for whenever and wherever we have to play. That's the same attitude that has got us to where we are now," he declared.
"The message every time we leave the dressing room is that we must be better than the previous game. And that's what we have to keep focusing on. We haven't done anything. We have won eight games which is a great record. We have won the Durand Cup, but that's it. If we want to win anything, we must win a few more games," concluded Grayson.
"We showed a lot of character and to win another game is fantastic"
🗣️ Hear what 's headcoach said after his side's 8️⃣th win in a row! 🔵 pic.twitter.com/xhu6pK5Po3
Elsewhere, Goa manager Carlos Pena expressed his disappointment on his side missing out on the playoff but credited BFC's incredible comeback. "Congratulations to Bengaluru FC because they have played amazingly in the second part of the season. They got some amazing results. It's over for us, so it's time to analyse. It has not been an easy season for us," he expressed.
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"I said many times that we came from a season where FC Goa finished in the ninth position. But, it is not a reason to be happy [having finished seventh] because we couldn't reach the objective of being in the playoffs. It was a relative season. We are disappointed. We will analyse the system, the mistakes we have made, the good things we have done and move on to the next tournament," concluded Pena.