Dragan Dukanovic, the Montenegrin coach of Sheikh Russell thinks his team will improve in the upcoming days and he has full faith on his players after yesterday’s 1-1 draw against Chittagong Abahani, a club which is languishing in the second place from bottom in the league.
His counterpart Nazrul Islam, however, hailed his players as he thought his players deserved credit because they could practice for just eight days before the kick-off of the second phase. He also opined that the penalty awarded by the referee was not justified.
Dukanovic said Russell controlled the game but his plans were dashed by the negative football of the opponents. “They were just stopping the game whenever we got the rhythm. They were falling down and wasting time. The referee was also below par. However, I thought we fought well and I believe this team will improve. I have every faith on my players,” affirmed Dukanovic.
The Montenegrin coach also pointed out that he did not have many choices. “Some players are injured and I don’t have many choices in my tent. The players will have to work hard to lift the spirits and I think it’s possible to see Russell as an energetic team,” said Dukanovic.
Haitian forward Pascal Milien said he couldn’t figure out what had happened to Russell’s attacking line. “I can’t figure it out. We are lacking the control of final passes. Now the new coach is here and I think he will figure it out,” hoped the Haitian.
Nazrul Islam thought the players responded well to the challenge. “We practiced for only eight days before the start of the second phase and then we played against two big teams- Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russell. We took the field to snatch at least a point and we did it. But I want to say that the penalty was not right. It was not a hand ball but ball hand,” complained Nazrul.
Mohammed Conte, the Guinean midfielder who scored for Abahani, said that his team would have loved to leave the field as winners. “We thought that we would win but everybody saw the mode of the penalty. It destroyed our aspirations,” said Conte.
