Like scoring goals, not conceding any is as important. The sooner head coach Jose Molina realises it, the better will it be for Mohun Bagan Super Giant.
Since the Durand Cup knockout stage till their ISL opener last Friday, the Bagan defence has let in nine goals in the last four games, which only reflects something is seriously wrong with the backline.
In a tougher competition like the AFC Champions League (ACL) II, this porous defence may hurt Bagan more unless they look to address it. Tajikistan's FC Ravshan, Bagan's opponents in their opener, are also quite capable of exploiting the chinks in the Bagan armoury.
Molina, though, continued to defend his team's faltering backline. "We're defending well... Just that in some moments we're making a few mistakes and that's why we're conceding. We'll try not to repeat those mistakes.
"Besides, if your defence is not doing well, it means your opponents are getting plenty of chances to score. But that didn't happen in any of our last three matches against Bengaluru FC, NorthEast United FC (both in Durand) and Mumbai City FC (last Friday)," Molina said on the eve of their ACL II opener.
"We pride ourselves on maintaining a clean sheet, but that doesn't always happen. However, we train every time keeping that in mind and learn every day to get better. So yeah, tomorrow (Wednesday) is one huge opportunity for us to execute them," Bagan defender Tom Aldred stated.
Iran's Tractor FC and the Qatari Al-Wakrah being the other two teams in Bagan's group, one can only imagine how much harder the going could be for Bagan in this competition.
Molina and his wards, though, should be under lesser pressure in ACL II. It was learnt that a message to give greater importance to the ISL has been communicated to the Spaniard by the club management. Given the quality of both Tractor FC and Al-Wakrah, it may take something close to a Herculean effort from Bagan to clear the group phase of ACL II.
Nevertheless, they are optimistic about Portuguese recruit Nuno Reis providing stability to the defence and strengthening it. But Reis' arrival seems to have been delayed because of visa-related matters.
Team combination-wise, Bagan, who may go with a 4-4-1-1 formation, may still have to wait for Jamie Maclaren's availability, although the Australian striker did practise during Tuesday's training session at Salt Lake. Centre-back Alberto Rodriguez, who sustained an injury against Mumbai City last week, didn't take part in Tuesday's training and is set to miss the game.
Ravshan, on the other hand, have seven overseas players in their ranks and all of them are available for selection. Currently third in the Tajik league, the visitors, however, aren't taking Bagan lightly.
"We have been analysing our opponents and found that Bagan, in the last five years, have moved to a new level altogether. They have played only one game in the ISL, they are fresh and in the best condition. While we are in the middle stage of our league, so we are a little more tired than them," head coach Mami Nazarzadeh Masoud explained.
