Kolkata : Punjab FC head coach Panagiotis Dilmperis lamented the mistakes while reflecting on his team's performance in the aftermath of their 2-4 loss against East Bengal in the Indian Super League (ISL).
Despite enjoying a 2-0 lead in the first half with goals from Asmir Suljic in the 21st minute and Ezequiel Vidal in the 39th, Punjab FC struggled to maintain momentum. It was particularly after a defensive collapse in the second half and conceded four goals.
Hijazi Maher scored the equalizer in the 46th minute. Vishnu Puthiya Valappil extended their lead in the 54th minute before an own goal by Nongmeikapam Suresh Meitei in the 60th minute further tilted the match in East Bengal FC's favour. David Lalhlansanga sealed
the win with a composed finish in the 67th minute.
"We have one goal without the opponent. The guy didn't have any chance; he didn't come close to our goal. And we had 3-4 chances and we scored two goals. There's no explaination for a second half like this," Dilmperis remarked, in the post-match press conference as quoted from ISL.com.
"Being injured, we lost the best header from the centre of our zone. The ball went there. They scored. We lost the leader of our defence. And then many, many, many other mistakes came up," he added.
Punjab FC's struggles intensified after half-time, with the Red and Yellow Brigade capitalised on individual errors. Dilmperis touched upon this collapse, and said, "It's certain, I do believe, that it's 20 bad moments of my players. There was no reason for us to change something when we have this picture in the first half. Why? No chances from the opponent, chances from us, possession. And suddenly, in 30 seconds, everything was destroyed. Everything collapsed."
The head coach also acknowledged the impact of Vishnu Vallathil's introduction for East Bengal FC, but dismissed it as the deciding factor, emphasising that Punjab FC's problems stemmed from their own side.
"He [Vishnu] is a player with a good potential. But all the other things happened from the other side, not from the side that he was in," Dilmperis clarified.
When asked whether Punjab FC relies too heavily on Ivan Novoselec, the coach admitted, "Yeah, definitely, yes. Because we lost the leader in the defence. We lost a lot of aggressiveness in the centre of the field."
The absence of stability proved costly, as one of the goals resulted from an uncharacteristic own goal, by Suresh Meitei, whom Dilmperis praised despite the mishap, "Suresh is one of our best players. I think he is doing a great season, attacking and defending. But he has two own goals"