Mahindra United wants to focus on future after losing match

Mumbai, Sep 29 (UNI) Mahindra United skipper Ajayan is looking to put the past behind and focus on future after the Durand Cup winners came a cropper against Churchill Brothers in their opening match of the I-League tournament.

Mahindra United, who snatched an equaliser in the 85th minute after trailing by a 61st minute goal by Churchill Brothers, looked like earning a draw before a last minute goal by Okolie, gave the Goan side the win.

''In such a situation, when we scored a late equaliser, a draw would have sufficed, but Okolie's winner was a gem. We didn't imagine he would score from that free-kick. As I said earlier, the first match was important. It has happened to Dempo as well. We are naturally disappointed that we lost it,'' said Ajayan, as he and his team headed for a practice session at the Mahindra ground, Kandivali here today.

But Ajayan chose to put behind the early setback and said his formidable team was looking ahead.

''There's a long way to go. There are 21 matches remaining and we will surely come back. We will discuss at our team meetings what went wrong and will try to learn from our mistakes. Our midfield didn't function as well as we would have liked it to. But as the competition progresses we will surely be a better combination,'' Ajayan explained.

''We certainly have a very good team, we are all fit. We are all working very hard, so we can only improve,'' he reasoned.

Mahindra United have home matches in the next two rounds, as they take on Chirag United, Kolkata in the second round on October 4, before facing debutants Mumbai FC on October 11 in the third round at the Cooperage.

''We will be practicing hard for our next match against Chirag.

We will certainly enjoy home advantage and try to make the most of it,'' said Ajayan.

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