ISL 2022-23: Coach Brdaric reveals what helped Chennaiyin FC end their 8-game winless streak
By Sunita Iyer | First Published Feb 13, 2023, 12:18 PM ISTChennaiyin FC put their eight-game winless streak in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) to rest after a comfortable 2-0 win over East Bengal FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Sunday.
Chennaiyin FC head coach Thomas Brdaric expressed delight with his team's performance as the Marina Machans registered a 2-0 win against East Bengal FC in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai on Sunday. A Lalchungnunga own goal put the Marina Machans in front before Rahim Ali's late goal managed to put them five points clear of the Torch Bearers with two games to go.
Two second half goals seal a win at the Marina Arena! 🙌💙 pic.twitter.com/aG1t8jLy7Q
— Chennaiyin FC 🏆🏆 (@ChennaiyinFC)Chennaiyin FC ended their eight-match winless run and completed the double over Stephen Constantine's men after securing the win in the reverse fixture in November. According to Brdaric, the first half was evenly matched, but adjustments in the second half ensured the home team's triumph.
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"Our approach today was a good one, to go with two strikers. We had good opportunities and after the change of Abdenasser (El Khayati), it changed the game a little bit and with a little bit of luck we survived a couple of times. The change in the second was crucial, we had everything in control, we created a lot of opportunities and at the end of the day if we count everything together, we deserved to win," Brdaric said in the official post-match press conference.
Brdaric's men are currently in ninth place in the Hero ISL points standings after their fifth victory of the year. Brdaric explained why maintaining a healthy roster is essential for the club to advance, and he expressed satisfaction with the victory over the Red and Gold Brigade.
"In football, we need a healthy dressing room. This is something that sets us apart from other clubs that we never give up, we're always positive. I told the players, from the first day, that it was going to be a challenge. We have been creating chances but didn't take them at the right moments. We made foolish mistakes, the players have to learn very fast that we have to be organized in every second of the play during the 90 minutes. In today's match we were playing with pressure and to face them (East Bengal FC) here and to win, it's fully satisfactory and we enjoyed the win," Brdaric said.
"Thank you so much for the support and belief in us!"
Boss Thomas has a message for you 🫵 after tonight's win at the Marina Arena 💙 | pic.twitter.com/HCNQOQRNFP
Abdenasser El Khayati was replaced with a possible hamstring injury in the 37th minute of the first half. The 34-year-old has only appeared in 11 games, scoring nine goals during that time. Bradric offered commentary on the substitution and predicted that the Talisman would return before the next game.
"We changed him (Abdenasser El Khayati) because he felt discomfort in his hamstring. I talked to him and he told me that it's not as serious as before, we'll do the scans and see how it'll turn out and we're hoping we can get him back before the next fixture," he added.
Already eliminated from the playoff race are the Marina Machans. The squad's next game is against FC Goa, one of the teams vying for the playoffs. Brdaric discussed how the team must fully recuperate before facing Carlos Pena's team and how, with a few little adjustments, the home team managed the game.
"The style that we play with is proactive and to push players ahead. Sometimes in the first half it was too calm, we didn't play fast through our centre backs and it was sloppy and poor but how we dealt with the second balls was much better and I also saw improvements when we sent (Anirudh) Thapa to the centre and it's very important for us to recover for the next match against FC Goa," stated Brdaric.
"This is game management, this is the work of my coaching staff. We made the right changes at halftime with Vafa (Hakhamaneshi) and (Rahim) Ali. We changed the system of being compact and we didn't allow much. We have height with Vafa, that's something that we missed in the first half and that's why he (Vafa Hakhamaneshi) has featured in our first XI regularly, we need him for defensive set pieces but we also need Nasser (Abdenasser El Khayati). We changed our settings a little bit and I'm satisfied that it worked well," the Chennaiyin FC coach signed off.
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