Former Dagenham & Redbridge captain reflects on defeat to Stansted and injury problems at the club

Sporting Bengal United manager Anwar Uddin congratulated his players despite their defeat to Stansted in the Essex Senior League last night (Tuesday).

Tom Hollamby put the Airportmen ahead at half time before Sam Ashford doubled the home teams lead.

Teo Borozam pulled one back for the visitors, but they suffered a 2-1 loss – their 11th in the division this season.

While unhappy with the final result, the Bengal boss was full of praise for his group of players.

“It was really frustrating in the end because we have so many injuries and suspensions,” said Uddin.

“Traditionally for Sporting Bengal, going to Stansted on a Tuesday night would be difficult so I signed a lot of players during the summer to handle that.

“But we are really struggling so much right now and I have 35 players who could play, but we were only able to name 13. I have to congratulate my players, however, and how we didn’t win last night I don’t know.”

Uddin could only named himself and coach Rob Crane as substitutes for the fixture at Hargrave Park due to injuries and suspensions.

He felt Bengal created enough to earn some sort of reward from the game with their manager not getting home until 12.30am.

“Our boys were brilliant. We had people playing that wouldn’t normally feature if everyone was fit, but they are taking their opportunity,” added Uddin.

“We had four or five chances to win the match too, but fair play to Stansted because they put theirs away.

“Me and Rob were on the bench, he is one of our coaches and wanted to be among the substitutes. He wanted to play and is a decent player actually, but it highlights where we are in terms of injuries and suspensions.”

While those problems have contributed towards Bengal’s recent inconsistency, Uddin refused to use it as an excuse.

The former Dagenham & Redbridge captain is satisfied with the improvement he has seen in his players this season.

Uddin added: “Every team gets injuries so I am not using it as an excuse, but we have drawn 13 games this season.

“If we turn half of them into wins, we would easily be in the top half of the table. But that isn’t our primary focus, it is to be competitive and improve players.

“We haven’t been able to train in 2016 which is frustrating because as a coaching team we know we can make these players better.

“Next year we will definitely look at changing our training schedule so we can get in at least one session a week.”