In the finale, Coyle’s men held the ball more than two-thirds of the match time and had taken 6 shots more than that of ATK, but their poor finishing saw them end on a losing side.
Owen Coyle. (Photo: Twitter/@ChennaiyinFC)
Losing the trophy after a neck-and-neck fight with ATK in the final of the Indian Super League, Chennaiyin FC head coach Owen Coyle said that Antonio Habas’ men would be very relieved to get away with the trophy.
Spanish midfielder Javi Hernandez on Saturday night netted twice in the final as ATK defeated Chennaiyin FC 3-1 to grab their third ISL title, the most by any team so far.
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“I think ATK will be very relieved to get away with the trophy given what we brought to the game. But that is how football is at the highest level,” said Coyle as quoted by PTI.
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In the finale, Coyle’s men held the ball more than two-thirds of the match time and had taken 6 shots more than that of ATK, but their poor finishing saw them end on a losing side.
“We had almost 70% possession but ultimately if you don’t take your chances, it will come back to haunt you. There were two things from our perspective. One, we were not clinical enough with our chances and second, I felt ATK’s last two goals were certainly avoidable,” he said.
The Chennaiyin coach feels that his men were no less than ATK, but they failed to cash in on the opportunities which certainly cost them the match.
“Goals change games. We had a few easy chances in initial phase but could not take them. No one should tell me they (ATK) were the better team. My disappointment is for how much my team put into the game. But ultimately if you don’t take your chances, you give away soft goals,” Coyle said.
“We were the team that played all the football. To be fair to them they stuck to their task. They made it tough for us by banging the ball forward. The spoils went to ATK so all the very best to them. We were the team who kept pushing on, but they were clinical and we were not,” he added.
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