Tuesday is a crucial day for Bangladesh Premier League powerhouse Abahani Limited as they face Indian Super League champions Mohun Bagan in the AFC Cup playoff at Salt Lake Stadium. A win for the Sky Blues will see them join BPL champions Bashundhara Kings in the group stage while a defeat will mean no more continental club competition this season. Prior to the important clash, the Dhanmondi giants’ head coach Mario Lemos gave an exclusive interview to Dhaka Tribune where he talked about the AFC Cup preliminary round victory against Eagles of the Maldives at the muddy Sylhet Stadium, Abahani’s new recruits and the upcoming hurdle against Mohun Bagan. Here are the excerpts:
How did you prepare your charges for the Eagles clash, knowing it was rainy season in Bangladesh?
We trained all week in Dhaka. We had the opportunity to go to BKSP (Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishthan) and train on artificial turf but I preferred to stay here because in Dhaka it was raining a lot. The training ground and pitch were also muddy. I think that gave us an advantage. We trained one-two weeks in those type of conditions and pitch.
It will be different this time against Mohun Bagan…
I think now it’s going to be the opposite. We’re going to a different pitch, different conditions, different team. Even the strategy to the game is completely different. We cannot face Mohun Bagan the same way we faced Eagles.
Abahani made five new signings for the AFC Cup from different Bangladesh clubs. How do you rate the performance of the new recruits?
I’m happy with the performance of the new players. It’s not easy you know, for them to adapt to the way we play, for us to adapt to the way they play, and create that connection with the new players. I think they did very well on a short period of time. Hopefully the more time we get, the better they get.
Among the new signings, Caribbean forward Stewart Cornelius led the way with a goal but also missed a good chance…
Yeah Corni is no doubt a goalscorer, a striker, he can make runs in behind. I think the goal he made was top class, a really good goal. You know it happens, you cannot score every goal. The performance that he gave, he worked very hard on the pitch, tried to create chances, helped the team when we didn’t have the ball. I’m very happy with his performance.
What are your thoughts on the goal conceded against Eagles?
The goal we conceded was our mistake, you know, man marking, one player allowed the Eagles player to score. That cannot happen again. If we do the same mistake against Mohun Bagan they will score. They scored two goals from set pieces last match (against Nepal’s Machhindra FC in Kolkata last Wednesday in preliminary round). We have to be concentrated, focused, do man marking inside the box. In man marking we cannot allow players to get free inside the box.
How did the soggy pitch of Sylhet impact natural play?
The impact was massive because the game changes you know, even our strategy to the game. We knew we cannot play the football we usually play and had to change. The ball was always stopping and it was a very heavy pitch. The strategy had to be different, play long sometimes, win the second balls, always be compact, be ready for mistakes. If someone made mistakes, we always had to cover him.
What was the players’ reaction after the win?
The players were very happy. Before the game we told the players what was most important was win the match. You know in this type of condition being able to win with a lot of new players, the players were very happy and they did very well in this match.
Was Danilo Augusto’s 89th minute winner a relief?
Yes, we were relieved. We created lots of chances and missed many. In this match maybe Eagles had two-three chances and scored one, we had much more (chances). Then Danilo scored in the 89th minute and you know, we felt that we’re going to win the game.
Do you enjoy the monsoon season in Bangladesh?
No, I don’t really enjoy, as a coach it’s not really enjoyable, you know, the training with the rain. And then the pitches make it difficult for us to train. Sometimes during this monsoon, we had to cancel training, we had to go to the gym. Even sometimes in training we had to stop as there was too much water. It doesn’t help us. It’s not easy to play in these conditions but at Abahani, we do not give excuses, try to get through it and do the best we can.
Having previously played at Nottingham Forest, Rangers and Luton Town among other clubs, Australian striker Jason Cummings made his World Cup debut last year against 2018 champions France in the group stage. Will he make the difference Tuesday?
No doubt that the player that plays the World Cup has a lot of qualities. He’s a top player of his country and in the world because he played in the World Cup. But of course like every player of Mohun Bagan, Cummings, (Hugo) Boumous, (Liston) Colaco all these players up front, we have to mark them tightly, we cannot give them space because if you give space and time to quality players, they will make the difference and make you pay.
What are you expecting from the Mohun Bagan encounter?
I expect a competitive game. I expect my team to be organized, disciplined, to be able to suffer, play sometimes without the ball and try go for the win. We cannot just defend, it’s not possible. Take our chances, we won’t have many chances like last game. The chances we get, we have to score, and stop them.
