রবিবার, ২৪শে মার্চ, ২০২৪ খ্রিস্টাব্দ ১০ই চৈত্র, ১৪৩০ বঙ্গাব্দ

Bruzon praises his charges despite defeat

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Bashundhara Kings head coach Oscar Bruzon praised his charges despite failing to qualify for the Inter-Zone semifinal of the AFC Cup 2021.

Kings were held to a 1-1 draw by India’s ATK Mohun Bagan in their last Group D match of the AFC Cup 2021 at National Stadium in Male, Maldives on Tuesday and the result saw them finishing the league table second after Mohun Bagan.

Kings, who didn’t concede a goal in the tournament before the match, successfully guarded the post in the first hour of the match and also went 1-0 up in the match after Jonathan Fernandes scored a goal in the 28th minute.

But defender Sushanto Tripura was shown a direct red card in the injury time of the first half that changed the scenario of the match as Mohun Bagan scored a goal in the 62nd minute to level the margin and went on to earn a draw in the match.

“When you have weakness in forces and weakness in resources, your rival has some advantages. But I must praise my players because they successfully executed the plans in the central area,” Bruzon said after the match.

“Mohun Bagan didn’t play through the build-up so we were very much compact in defence and didn’t give them any open space for attacks.

“I think Mohun Bagan got just one chance. I don’t think that we gave them much open space. They just got one and utilized that. We were very much confident in the second half that we could keep this result, but unfortunately, we failed,” he added.