Ricki Herbert, the chief coach of NorthEast United FC, said at the post-match press conference here on Saturday, that “he couldn’t have written a better script.”
Praising the team’s display against the host, Herbert said he was impressed with the “ingredients of our performance.”
Explaining the team’s performance, Herbert said, “we were far more competitive, had more set-pieces, had more possession and controlled the match (better).”
The 2-2 draw with Chennaiyin FC has given the visitor a big boost, and Herbert didn’t miss a chance to take a dig at the host.
“Chennaiyin didn’t do its homework properly. We played differently today,” he said. “It’s nice to do well against a side which is challenging its position at the top.”
On the team’s striker James Keene not finding the net even once so far Herbert said, “we needed somebody (like Keene) to do the hard-work. Hope he is not too far away (from scoring a goal).”
Vivek Nagul, the assistant coach of Chennaiyin FC, said, “we are disappointed with the result. We deserved three points.”
Nagul further said perhaps the team was distracted at some point. “We should have been more focussed, and concentrated better.”
On the over-dependence on Elano, Nagul said, “we want our strikers to score. Elano has done his bit. It’s a message for our strikers.”
