Molina happy to have qualified for the semis; Coppell: You cannot depend on anybody else but yourself

A POINT WAS ALL THAT ATK NEEDED to book a spot in the playoffs. Pearson's goal got the equaliser and that was enough for ATK to secure their place in the semi final.

After ATK's last home game, Molina could not be more pleased with he result as he just had semi-final qualification on his radar. Talking to the press after the game he said,

“I am really happy to have qualified for the semi-finals as it was our first aim. We tried to win today but we knew one point would be enough for us to qualify, and we now have a game against Pune and we will try to win against them too, and we will give some new players an opportunity to play and we will give a bit of rest to some players who have featured in a lot of matches.”

Coppell speaking to the media post the match yesterday said,

“Anybody who has seen Kolkata this season knows that they are very dangerous on counter-attacks and I think in the second half my goalkeeper did not have much to do and the same goes for their goalkeeper. I think towards the end both teams thought a point was not a bad idea, and in the end it was like watching a waltz. Against Mumbai when we went all out to attack, we learnt a bit of a lesson and we have got respect for our opposition as they have a terrific attack with good players like Hume, Postiga, Javi Lara and Doutie and they could really hurt us. All and all, I think our performance ticked all the boxes and to come here and get a point irrespective of what effect it has on the league, I am reasonably happy.”

Speaking about the many draws that ATK have got this season, Molina commented,

“Yes, in some places we went wrong like conceding some silly goals and we did not make these mistakes deliberately. The team is working really well and the team is working really hard, and in 13 matches we have only two defeats, so it's not bad, and in all the matches we played and we tried to win, and sometimes you win and sometimes you don't. The most important thing is to be in the semi-finals,”

KBFC have gathered 19 points, with one game remaining in the league. If these will be enough for Kerala to qualify to the semi-finals, Coppell replied,

“I think I will find out tomorrow. One thing I have found out from this competition and from football is that you cannot depend on anybody else but yourself, so whatever happens , we will try and win the next game.”

ATK have been tough at home, they have had just one loss in all home games so far.Molina on the good home record said,

“I think the pitch is good, grass is also good and I think the problem is, and I am thankful to the fans who come to support us, but since it is an open stadium, there is not much noise. I think the players need the noise and I am really thankful to the fans who come here, and there are people who talk about the great atmosphere at the Salt Lake Stadium but that is not the case here, and I think that is one of the reasons why we could not win many matches here.”

Kerala approached the game cautiously and tried to not give too much of space to ATK players. On this strategy, the Englishman replied,

“We had a couple of injury problems today and the way we had decided to play originally was not the way we ended up playing. We had a few injury problems in the morning today and we had to change things around in the last minute and we did okay, and you know our shape was a bit lop-sided, but again looking at the way Kolkata played, we had an extra man in midfield just to try and cramp the areas for Postiga as he himself can change the game and we managed to do that successfully,” 

The first goal of the game came through an error by Debjit, spilling a regulation catch to let in Vineeth to score. Commenting on the error, Coach Molina said,

“For goalkeepers, we know we have to live with the mistakes and we know we are not perfect, and 95% when a keeper makes a mistake it is a goal and I am not happy and I am sure Debjit is not happy but Debjit has been working very hard and I see him improving, and that is football, it happens.”

The home side equalised in an oustanding fashion where they displayed one-touch football right from the build up to scoring. How he felt to be on the receiving end of that goal admitted it was a great team goal and further said,

 “I must admit that if the goal was not against my team I would have enjoyed it. It was a terrific goal, perfect and laidback, and it was the classic third man run, and given the quality and athleticism of Borja, Hume and Pearson so lively, and when you get those combinations going you can't guarantee that you can stop them all, and I thought it was a terrific goal. This was an away game, so we had to be wary of them, and it came down to that one outstanding chance which they converted, and I thought it was an excellent defensive performance by our team without intending to be defensive" 

On a question about the who was the best opponent, Molina replied,

“I think the best opponent for me was Delhi and I don't know why, and I can't understand why we did not win against Mumbai here but that is football you know, and maybe if we face them again we will try to win.”

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