Mamic hails Abahani spirit

Abahani coach Drago Mamic hailed his side's stunning victory over Bengaluru FC in the AFC Cup as he felt his charges played a technically brilliant game. The Croat also heaped praise on winger Rubel Mia, who set up the first goal before scoring the second with a 45-yard strike.

“It's not easy to win against the strongest team in the group after you lost the first three matches,” Mamic said in his post-match reaction. “The boys played a technically brilliant match. We tried not to concede a goal after Saad [Uddin] scored the first. Rubel played terrifically well and scored such a wonderful goal.”

The 63-year-old, who oversaw three defeats in first three matches of this continental tussle, also praised goalkeeper Shahidul Alam and the entire defence for putting up such a dogged effort as his side scored two goals after being reduced to ten men.

While Abahani are still at the bottom of the table alongside Mohun Bagan with three points each and Bengaluru and Maziya FC are on nine points each, the result still keeps the group mathematically open.

“Abahani have improved much after their defeat against us in the previous match,” Bengaluru FC coach Alberto Roca Pujol said.

The Spaniard, who guided his side to a 2-0 victory in the home fixture last month, believes the Sky Blues are still in the race for qualification for the final round. “We never underestimated Abahani, we knew we would have a tough game ahead. Still two games to go for Abahani, so they still have a chance to qualify,” Pujol added.