AFC Cup: I am happy to win 1-0 – East Bengal coach Marcos Falopa

Marcos Falopa of East Bengal

East Bengal coach Marcos Falopa has no regrets from the first leg of their AFC Cup quarter-final against Indonesia’s Semen Padang although his side only won by a solitary goal. The 1-0 win means that East Bengal won’t have too much of a margin for error in the second leg but Falopa remains optimistic of progression.

“In football there are three results –win, draw or defeat. I am happy to win this game and now looking ahead to the second leg. Of course you can always do better but a win is a win,” he said.

Falopa is still getting used to Indian football and for long periods in the game it looked like his players were not 100 percent ready physically as this was only their third competitive match of the season. The Brazilian admitted that his team would have to improve fitness wise.

“We haven’t had too many matches before this so it wasn’t easy. Players are still adapting to my style and in the first half we took time to settle. They (Semen Padang) had some chances too so we have to improve on our fitness before the next leg,” he said.

The absence of Ryuji Sueoka from the starting eleven was a big talking point and the fact that he went on to score to the winner raised further question marks about Falopa’s team selection but the former Myanmar national team coach defended his decision.

“Sueoka was out of condition. He improved as the game went on today and will start in the next leg. I have nothing against any player and happy with everyone. I will always select the team, not the press,” he said.