Bengaluru FC edged past Hyderabad FC by a solitary goal to leapfrog ATK to the second spot in the Indian Super League (ISL) standings after Friday's encounter.
Head coach Carles Cuadrat explained the thought behind the set-piece that saw Nishu Kumar (7') score a wonderful goal.
"We study the other team a lot. Normally it is risky, it is much easier to give the ball to Erik (Paartalu). But we have great players who we trust. We tried an action and it worked. Dimas put the ball in the right position and Nishu took it well," he said.
After Miku's departure, struggles in front of goal continued for Bengaluru FC as both Deshorn Brown and latest acquisition Nilli Perdomo - signed to replace Manuel Onwu who is sent on-loan to Odisha FC - failed to bury the opportunities that the team created.
"Miku is part of the past. We have tried different combinations and all have produced chances. Another day, we could have scored. We had Manuel (Onwu) but he could not score. It happens to forwards and it is no secret. I'm happy with the work of the guys and the chances they created to score the second goal. It was a game where scoring the second could have changed it," Cuadrat admitted.
ISL
Having assisted Hyderabad head coach Albert Roca in the past, the Bengaluru gaffer acknowledged the tactical game meted out by Hyderabad interim coach Javier Gurri Lopez and insisted that the penalty was wrongly awarded.
"We played against a team with good coaches, one in Spain (Roca) and one here (Lopez). When he saw Suresh (Wangjam) marking Marcelinho, he put him wide. Then (Harmanjot) Khabra tried marking him and there was some misunderstanding between them. You can't do mistakes game after game. It was not a penalty and we got so many yellow cards. It is crazy."
Cuadrat was also livid at the referee flashing the yellow card to Nishu instead of Suresh after the latter was deemed to have brought down Marcelinho in the box.
"They (Hyderabad) changed some things with the way they play and they have a lot of quality. You know that when you arrive 1-0 towards the end of the game, you are in trouble. We tried the second goal but it didn't happen. We got a clean sheet because Gurpreet saved the penalty and (in) the last action of the game," Cuadrat signed out.