Up against a full-strength Mohun Bagan side, an all-Indian Chennaiyin outfit went toe-to-toe with their opponents for large parts of the contest on a rain-soaked Fatorda pitch. Head coach Clifford Miranda expressed his pride in the team\u2019s effort during their first competitive outing in five months and emphasised the importance of building on that performance ahead of the crucial East Bengal clash.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe did well against Mohun Bagan, despite not having too many training sessions. The players\u2019 attitude has been great, right from day one and into the match. They did not get bogged down by the challenges and played fearlessly. We did commit some mistakes, but that is bound to happen since we have only been in training for 12 days. They (the players) are trying to understand what I want from them, but it\u2019s working day in, day out, week in week out, to get where we want to be,\u201d Miranda said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Chennaiyin and East Bengal have met ten times before, with the Marina Machans holding the edge following a commanding 3-0 win in February in the ISL. This will be their first meeting in the Super Cup.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Speaking further on the tie, Miranda added, \u201cThe players\u2019 attitude was fantastic. They showed they wanted to play, showed they wanted to defend, that they were ready to suffer without the ball, which was fantastic. It gives me encouragement that we can build something important and worthwhile going forward.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Echoing Miranda was experienced left-back Mandar Rao Dessai, who started as one of the five in the backline. Mandar remained confident of carrying the same character and togetherness in the next match as he highlighted the team\u2019s performance against Mohun Bagan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Speaking further on the tie, Miranda added, \u201cThe players\u2019 attitude was fantastic. They showed they wanted to play, showed they wanted to defend, that they were ready to suffer without the ball, which was fantastic. It gives me encouragement that we can build something important and worthwhile going forward.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Lastly, Miranda also gave an update on the team, confirming that he will have the full squad at his disposal, despite the team only training together in the past fortnight. Chennaiyin will close their group campaign with a third and final match against Dempo SC on October 31.<\/p>\r\n\r\n