Guwahati: After earning their fifth straight draw and almost ruling themselves out of contention from making it to the next round of the 2019 AFC Cup, Minerva Punjab head coach Sachin Badadhe expressed his displeasure over the result against Chennaiyin FC on Wednesday.
The team looked all set to register their first victory thanks to Samuel Lalmuanpuia's 62nd minute goal at the Indira Gandhi Stadium but were denied by a 90th minute goal by Mohd. Rafi.
It was a result which kept Minerva Punjab in third place, and with no chance of overtaking Group E leaders Abahani Limited Dhaka who are on 10 points.
"Not happy with the result. But the boys really played well and it was a good game from the point of view of execution of plans," said Badadhe.
"We got a lot of chances in the game but unfortunately couldn't convert them. Despite that, I won't say the boys didn't play well. They gave it their all."
Group E: Minerva Punjab v Chennaiyin FC
In the buildup to the match, Badhade had stressed on how concentration loss has been the team's bane.
The same came to the fore on Wednesday when the team conceded a last minute goal to let victory slip away.
"We really need to be focused and we are working on it. We are trying to make the players mentally alert even after they get tired on the pitch. But it happens. It happened today too. No doubt, it's a big problem for us."
FULL-TIME | @minervapunjabfc ?? 1-1 @ChennaiyinFC ??
Heartbreak for Minerva as a late Chennaiyin equaliser means they have now drawn all 5⃣ of their #AFCCup2019 games. #MFCvCNY pic.twitter.com/PIqSUB4nEO
— AFC Cup (@AFCCup) June 19, 2019
Ahead of his team's final group match against Group E leaders Abahani Limited Dhaka on Wednesday, Badadhe asserted that Minerva Punjab will put up a fight.
"We are still having hopes. We played well and won't let our morale go down. We will fight in the last game."
Source: the-afc.com