NorthEast United take on Pune City in Guwahati
The Highlanders have 17 points from 13 matches with a goal difference of -6 and in their last match of the league stage on Wednesday they will have to beat the Stallions first and then hope that Chennaiyin FC lose one of their two remaining matches. If these two results come the Highlanders’ way, they will be through to the semis
Agencies
Guwahati
NorthEast United FC head coach Cesar Farias is not throwing in the towel and has vowed to fight till the end ahead of the team’s last league game of the 2015 Hero Indian Super League against FC Pune City at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday.
The Highlanders have 17 points from 13 matches with a goal difference of -6 and in their last match of the league stage on Wednesday they will have to beat the Stallions first and then hope that Chennaiyin FC lose one of their two remaining matches. If these two results come the Highlanders’ way, they will be through to the semis.
“It's true that we had a big possibility in the last game (vs Delhi Dynamos FC which NorthEast lost 2-1) but we let it slip through our hands. But it also true that we still have a possibility, it's not impossible…You have got to keep going and concentrate on what's coming up next. We’ll fight till we've the slightest of chances to make it. These are big games and a win can make all the difference for us,” Farias told reporters on Monday.
Things are not easy for FC Pune City either. If they lose, they will be out of semis contention. When asked to rate the Stallions under David Platt, Farias said: “It's a big game for both teams. Both teams will have to risk a lot of things but what's in the past is in the past.”
The Venezuelan also provided an update on the fitness status of Diomansy Kamara and others. “He's making a big effort to make it to the game tomorrow. But one can see that his ankle looks like a football. He's bruised but we hope that he gets better tomorrow. He trained with the team today.
“Aiborlang Khongjee is back in training. Francis Dadzie has not recovered fully yet but we are evaluating him day by day.”
When a journalist asked him as to what he thought his team could have done differently this season, Farias said: “You are already talking like the season is over. But we've still got possibilities, there is a big game today (between Chennaiyin FC and Mumbai City FC) and tomorrow as well. No one knows till December 6, if we've made it or not. We cannot talk about something that hasn't happened yet. We'll fight till the end and if we're not through, then we can evaluate the season.”
