SC East Bengal head coach Robbie Fowler feels his side gave Mumbai City FC the toughest 45 minutes they've had in the ongoing seventh season of the Indian Super League (ISL) on Friday.
Mumbai City overcame a tough challenge from the Red and Golds to register a hard-fought 1-0 win. The East Bengal dominated second half proceedings but failed to net a goal. Fowler was proud of the performance of his players despite the loss against tables topper Mumbai.
"It was a performance that we can be rightly proud of. Okay we have not won the game, but we have shown everybody around the world how much possession we had in the game. I think we look so much more like a well-rounded team," Fowler said at the post-match press conference.
"Individuals are looking fitter and stronger. It's a bit of a shame that it took us 45 minutes to get going because we probably gave Mumbai [City] the hardest 45 minutes they've had this season. Full credit to our lads, the scoreline probably didn't do us justice but it's a defeat, nonetheless," he added.
East Bengal had a poor run in the first half of the season but with the side coming back to form the Liverpool legend feels they can compete against the big teams.
"It's massively frustrating because it shows that we can compete against the big teams. We want to go out there and get the right results in every game. We're ambitious so we'll pick ourselves up and watch the game," Fowler said.
"I think that it was our first defeat in eight games, so it's massively important that we start winning soon because we have got the players to get results. Hopefully that will come pretty quickly," he added.
The Englishman still believes that East Bengal can finish the league stage in the top four and the coach is looking forward to the real challenge.
"It gets harder with every week that passes. It becomes more difficult with every game that is out of the way but it's important that we play our game and try and get the right results. We've seen how tight it is between the middle and bottom of the table. A few good results and performances will put us back in the mix, so it's not over for us yet. It's a real challenge and we look forward to it," Fowler signed off.
( With inputs from ANI )
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