FATORDA: After their shock 1-2 defeat against NorthEast United FC, FC Goa will look to bounce back and get back on track against Jamshedpur FC at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, on Thursday.
Sergio Lobera will be hoping his men put on an improved performance in front of the home fans and see off the challenge of Jamshedpur FC, a side that has conceded only four goals, the least in the Hero Indian Super League so far. However, they have also scored only four times, which is also the least in the ISL so far.
FC Goa Sergio Lobera said it was not a case of safeguarding their interests, but that of putting players above results that forced his hand – given that they played two matches in the space of four days. He also confirmed that new signing Lalmuankima is still not available for selection.
“I’ve seen every game in the league so far and I don’t think teams are playing differently against us. The next few games will show whether we deserve to be in the playoffs. As for tomorrow, we will need to be at our best to beat a side which has kept five cleansheets and conceded just four goals,” the Spaniard said.
It’s a battle of the opposites as the team which has scored the most number of goals hosts the team which has conceded the least as the Hero Indian Super League nears the halfway stage and as the visiting head coach Steve Coppell put it, it looks like offence vs defence on paper.
“Sounds like a good contest – test of our defence against what has been the most fluid attacking unit until now. They score goals freely as they’ve shown against a number of sides and it is a challenge to do our best to stop them and hurt them. We’ve certainly not come (here) to only keep them out – but also try to expose any weaknesses they might have at the back,” said the former Manchester United player.
It may seem that Jamshedpur are willing to sit back, but Coppell also made it clear that the earnest desire was to play a more attractive brand of football.
“It’s not our intention to try and get a 0-0 or squeak a game 1-0. We want to play more expansive football,” he said, adding that he hopes his defence tightens up after they let in two goals in their previous game [vs Mumbai City FC].
“Anas has been out for a while and the pitch at home is fairly demanding on its own so it was a big question whether he should play right away. It was apparently the miscommunication in the back four and we hope that is tidied up.”
