FC Goa will look to continue its winning momentum and secure its first home win of the season when it faces a struggling NorthEast United FC (NEUFC) in the Indian Super League (ISL) here on Friday.
Goa has struggled at home in its last two home fixtures in the ISL, losing 1-2 and 0-2, to Jamshedpur FC and Mumbai City FC, respectively.
But the Gaurs returned to winning ways against East Bengal last week with a narrow 3-2 victory in Kolkata, while the reigning Durand Cup champion NEUFC, which played out a 1-1 draw with Kerala Blasters FC, is still in search of its first win.
Goa will look forward to young players stepping up in the absence of a few seniors due to injuries and head coach Manolo Marquez urged that the team needs to adapt to situations better than the previous games.
“We have a lot of things to improve on. It’s true that the other day, we played good in some moments, and we need to learn to manage the situations better,” Marquez said.
“We have players with experience, who are injured. We have played a lot of young guys, especially in the form of substitutions, and they need to adapt to the ISL.”
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The last time the two teams met in the ISL, the Highlanders overcame the Gaurs 2-0. If they are able to achieve the similar feat again, it will be a new record for Juan Pedro Benali’s side.
Benali is wary of the threat that Goa possess and refused to downplay the hosts despite a shaky start to the season. He said, “It is going to be a very difficult game. It’s a very good team with great players and a very good coach — the national team coach, in fact.
“He knows each player very well. It won’t be easy. We need to be strong, focused, not give them enough space, and we will need to play smart,” said Benali.
Goa and NEUFC have played each other 20 times in the ISL, with the former winning six matches and the latter, four. The remaining 10 games have been draws.
FC Goa goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani will also near a personal milestone, and is one game away from registering 100 appearances in the ISL. He will become the sixth goalkeeper to achieve this milestone after Amrinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Rehenesh TP, Vishal Kaith and Arindam Bhattacharja.
Marquez has won five ISL games against the Highlanders. If Goa wins, it would be his sixth win, levelling his record against Chennaiyin FC. The only team he has beaten on more occasions is East Bengal (7).
The match is scheduled for 7:30 pm kick-off.
