After playing out a 1-1 draw against FC Goa, SC East Bengal coach Robbie Fowler said his players were brilliant especially after being reduced to 10 men in the clash.
Another late goal saved the day for FC Goa as they managed to grab a point in a hard-fought 1-1 draw against SC East Bengal in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Tilak Maidan Stadium, Vasco on Wednesday.
In what was initially a cagey contest, SCEB took the lead through Bright Enobakhare's (79') stunning solo goal. But Goa fought back with a goal from substitute Devendra Murgaonkar (81') to deny their opponents a second successive win, who were brought to 10-men in the second half.
"I am delighted. We played against a good team. We probably lacked possession a bit but we deserved it. We probably had the best chances. They obviously had some chances themselves but ours were more clear cut and there's were more from set-pieces. Our players were brilliant especially after going down to 10 men. I am delighted with a point but we obviously wanted more," said Fowler during the post-match press conference.
For the clash against FC Goa, East Bengal made five changes to the team. Talking about the changes, Fowler said: "We have got players who missed a lot of pre-season and came in very late so we have to look after the players. I keep saying that we are behind a lot of teams in terms of physical fitness. At times players will get niggles and knocks so we need to make do with the players we got. Tonight the players who came in were fantastic and they certainly did not let me down or the club."
East Bengal's hopes of grabbing control of the game suffered a huge blow when Danny Fox was sent off in the 56th minute. The SCEB captain received his marching orders for a rough challenge on Alexander Jesuraj.
"We played with 10 men. When you play with 10 men and you are playing a good team who play good football of course you are going to be behind the ball. We defended massively and I proud of the way they worked with each other and helped each other. It was a tough game and I think we did not deserve to lose in any way," said Fowler.
East Bengal is currently at ninth place in the ISL points table with seven points from nine games. The side will next take on Bengaluru FC on Saturday.
( With inputs from ANI )
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