ISL: FC Goa look to close the gap

Panaji: FC Goa can turn the heat on Indian Super League (ISL) leaders Mohun Bagan Super Giant towards the business end of the competition.
With a match in hand, Goa are seven points behind the Kolkata giants. Manolo Marquez’s side can close the gap if they secure a win against old foes Chennaiyin FC at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, on Saturday.
Owen Coyle’s Chennaiyin did well to hold Bagan goalless in their last match, doing Goa – and the rest of the chasing pack – a favour.
Unbeaten in their last 11 games, Goa will start favourites although they huffed and puffed their way to a slender solitary-goal win against East Bengal in the previous game at home.
“I know how the teams of Owen Coyle are. They will fight till the end. It’s true they are in a bad moment in terms of scorers, but you check their last games, they played a good game the other day against Mohun Bagan,” Manolo told reporters during the pre-match conference on Friday.
Chennaiyin come into the fixture after three consecutive draws. They are winless in their last five games. The former champions have struggled to get going and are tenth in the standings with 18 points from 17 matches.
“At this moment, a draw is not enough for Chennaiyin, if they want to arrive in the top six. We know the kind of game we need to play against them, but we also need to know to manage this situation and take advantage,” said Manolo.
Among foreign players, only the injured Dejan Drazic is missing while Irish midfielder Carl McHugh, who missed the last game due to suspension after accumulating four yellow cards, returns to the side.
Defensively, Goa have put on a stellar show with the centre-back pairing of Sandesh Jhingan and Odei Onaindia. They are the second-best team with a defence that has conceded 20 goals.
“I feel my players are the best in ISL, not just the four defenders. We have a good team, we train very good, the atmosphere is fantastic. But in your life, you can never promise results. When we score one goal, we must play the same way and keep going. You can defend but need to do counter-attacks at least, it is another point we must improve. We can play better than the last game,” said Manolo.
Chennaiyin are 18 games without a clean sheet against Goa. When the teams met in the first leg, it ended in a 2-2 draw.
“We need to win games because draws won’t be enough,” said Chennaiyin coach Owen Coyle. “As much as we've had draws and did well in them, equally in each of them, I think we could have easily won those games. That's what we need to do, just turn that switch from draws to wins. We drew with Goa at home, as we did with Mohun Bagan and Mumbai (City), so I've shown we can stand toe to toe with very, very good teams.
“We go to Goa, not to sit down, we go there to try and win the game. With us drawing with Mohun Bagan, it's given them an extra life, to try and get closer in terms of the Shield. I know their aspirations, but we clearly know our own. We have to show that character, that mentality that we showed last season. We are capable of doing it.”