Bengaluru FC were not at their best on Saturday. Coach Albert Roca acknowledged that his team ‘was not really playing their game.’ And this has been the case in their last two matches.

However, despite all the criticism, what must be noted is that they have managed to grab six points. Some may refer to the first goal scored in Kolkata as a freak one when Jordi Figueras saw his clearance find the back of the net. Others may suggest that Miku’s goal came late in the game when Kolkata threw everyone forward in their search for the equalizer.

One cannot discredit Roca’s team for they are mentally strong and manage to come away with a win even when they are not in the best of forms. This is certainly a quality of champion team as they pick points even on their not-so-good-days.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu put in a commanding performance between the sticks at the Salt Lake Stadium, a venue where he was playing for the very first time since 28th April, 2014. His display only showed the progress he has made in the three years with Norwegian club Stabaek FC from his error-prone days at East Bengal. The 26-year-old has come a long way and it’s because of performances such as the one dished against ATK, that Bengaluru FC paid a transfer fee to bring him back to the Indian shores.

If there is something Roca would be concerned about, it would on how easily they gave away the ball to the opposition. At times their midfield was bypassed completely. As highlighted earlier, without Dimas Delgado, Bengaluru struggle for the ball as seen in their last two games. If there is an area which Roca would want to strengthen over the summer, certainly midfielders will be their top priority.
Ashley Westwood will take heart from the fact that his side managed to make things difficult for the visitors. They struck the post, had a couple of decent chances but still failed to make it count.

It was the final delivery into the box which wasn’t the best. Keegan Pereira couldn’t deliver a single successful cross, Ashutosh Mehta did it once. Both full-backs though did have a shot on target. At times even though Mehta would cross into the box, how many ATK players were present inside the area - Martin Patterson, Jayesh Rane and at times, Bipin Singh. On most occasions, Rahul Bheke, Juanan and John Johnson were winning most of the aerial duels. Was it the right strategy to just cross into the box or should they have tried something else?

If there is one incident which ATK can certainly complain about was that Bengaluru should have been down to ten in the 63rd minute itself. Bheke’s foul on Pereira was a straight red. Westwood is right when he mentioned that ATK’s players will have to play for their careers, in order to win the next contract. In fact, most of the players are already in touch with other clubs willing to reduce their wages in order to get out of their misery in ATK.
The fault lies with the club’s management for not sticking to their winning formula