Basil Sylvester Pinto
PANAJI
FC Goa will look to add another brick in the wall at their Fatorda fortress on Thursday as they look to consolidate their position at the summit of the league in a top of the table mouth-watering clash against Bengaluru FC, last season’s runner-up and arguably the most balanced side in the competition.
FC Goa have won all their three clashes at home so far - against Mumbai City FC (5-0), FC Pune City (4-2) and Delhi Dynamos FC (3-2) while Bengaluru hold an enviable record of being one of the only two sides unbeaten in the competition thus far.
The exciting encounter promises to witness a very sumptuous brand of attacking flair and a goal-fest given both have very potent strike forces. While Bengaluru have continued to rely on Venezuelean forward Miku and India captain Sunil Chhetri, who plays on the left wing or within proximity for a major chunk of their goals, the Goa outfit has Ferran Corominas to count as the lynchpin of their attacking third. Coro has done his reputation no harm to this point with eight goals from six matches and leads in the quest for a Golden Boot, a successive season running.
While The Blues has a strong defense system, the home team in their last match made tactical switches that came in as a breath of fresh air. The season’s designated captain Mandar Rao Dessai was benched and Spaniard Carlos Pena was handed his first start as a left back in the away Kerala game which showed encouraging signs in the Goa citadel. Brandon Fernandes after his super sub heroics in the home game against Delhi was rewarded with his name penciled in the starting XI as French man Hugo Boumous was kept in the substitutes list.
On the prospect of facing arguably the most competent and consistent sides in the league, Gaurs’ gaffer Sergio Lobera admitted, “I think we are facing the best team in the league. I believe the match on Thursday is a big challenge for us. I think the match will determine what is going to happen in this league. But I think it is a good chance for us to get three points at home and take the advantage going forward.”
Meanwhile, resting doubts on Sunil Chhetri’s availability for the Goa game after the India captain opted out of the recent friendly against Jordan, Carles Cuadrat revealed the all-time Indian goal-scorer had travelled with the side for the important tussle. “He (Chhetri) has been in training with us for the last two sessions. As for us, we have realized that he had no problems in these sessions and he will participate in the game (on Thursday).
Goa will be guarded against the threat of Bengaluru’s thriving strike duo of Miku-Chhetri, who have together contributed to seven goals from 10 for their side in this season until now. They would be served well to retain the same first XI from their previous game against Kerala particularly after showing healthy signs in the back four.
In reply to a question at the pre-match presser, Lobera preferred to keep his cards close to the chest, unwilling to reveal if he will make changes to his starting team. He also acknowledged Coro as a key player to his side’s fortunes and a kind of player who has enough experience to handle any kind of pressure.
On his part, the Bengaluru head coach admitted that the match against the home side would prove to be an intense challenge in the longer context. “We can say that FC Goa are playing very good football and are scoring a lot of goals so I think it can be a very nice game because our mentality is also to play nice football and score goals. It is a match between teams that will be fighting it out for the play-offs eventually. I hope the match becomes a nice show for all the fans,” Cuadrat stated.
While FC Goa have looked strong at home and difficult to even salvage a point from, they will be wary of the visitors who are on a hot away winning streak of three matches.
Can the visitors exorcise their ghosts of a seven-goal thriller ending in dismay with a loss and their India custodian red-carded late into the game at the Fatorda fortress last season or will the Gaurs herd extend their winning run at home to a fourth game ? Whatsoever is the result, a festival atmosphere and another goal-fest promises to be in the offing.
