Match will be streamed live on www.i-league.org
Agencies
Shillong
Sporting Clube de Goa is geared up to take on Shillong Lajong FC at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Shillong on Sunday. The Flaming Oranje is placed 5th with 4 points from their first three matches while Shillong are sixth with same number of points.
Speaking to the media, Sporting coach Mateus Costa said: “We are looking forward to this match. These are very crucial away points that we are playing for, every point counts.”
When asked about the mood within Sporting camp after their first victory, he said: “It was an important victory for us. It has helped us boost our confidence and we would look to continue the same in this match. We go ahead into this match with an unchanged side.”
At Aizawl last week Mateus Costa used the midfield trio of Densill Theobald, Pratesh Shirdokar and Rowlin Borges high up in the field to provide support to their striker Odafa Okolie. And, the trick seemed to work well for the Goan side who managed to score within 16 seconds from the kick off. The head coach seems to be very positive with the side that pulled out a fantastic performance and would not want to disturb the rhythm.
The gaffer also had a special mention for their back line which kept back to back clean sheets in both the previous matches. “The defense has been stable not letting anything pass through and that’s a good thing. They have been making those crucial tackles which have helped us keep the opponent strikers at bay.”
However, he did admit that the front line needs to fire more. “Well we need to score more goals, it’s an obvious thing. We have been creating a lot of chances but the conversion ratio needs to improve. Had we even converted half of the chances we created I believe we would have won all our matches," Mateus said with a grin on his face.
When asked about the Shillong, Mateus said: “They have a good squad and home conditions are on their side but we are confident we can pull this one through.”
When quizzed about the new signings who have been left out for this trip to North East, Mateus said: "The league is long and we need to keep everyone fit. It is important that we use our players wisely.”
Kick off 4 pm
