Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
Delhi Dynamos are in a desperate situation.They have so far played five matches and despite dominating them they have yet to record a win in this season’s ISL so far.
Having lost two and drawn three they will be hoping that home venue will bring them a luck as they take on in-form NorthEast United at the JawaharLal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Chief coach Josep Gombau is surprised about his team’s failure to earn full points.Going by the statistics and play on the field Delhi Dynamos have been dominating the proceedings but the marksmen have let down the side failing to captalize on the chances that came their way .
“We lack confidence because when you have so many chances and don’t score, it affects the team. But I hope we will be strong tomorrow,” Gombau told media persons
“We are conceding goals in transition and that is something we need to work on. We are playing more in the opposition half and then getting hit on the counter attack. We are working on fixing that.”
“Tomorrow is the day that hopefully things change for us. It’s a new game and I hope that we rectify our mistakes and start to take our chances. We need to be more proficient upfront,”
On the other hand NorthEast United are brimming with confidence.They come into this game placed 2nd in the league
“Tomorrow will be tough. They have a strong attacking force and it will be a big task for us to stop them. I am hoping that we can do well and keep a clean sheet.”Gombau admitted
While Gombau mostly talked about his team’s showing so far,he was visibly annoyed when told about Northeast United coach Eelco Schattorie ‘s assertion that he would have ensured a top three spot for Delhi , if he was in charge.
“NorthEast coach needs to focus on his team and not mine. He doesn’t need to make such remarks,” retorted Gombau.
“It is going to be a very difficult game. Delhi, with the team they have, being low on the table surprises me. I would even dare to say that if I had this team, we will play (be in) top three. It sounds arrogant (I know),” Schattorie claimed.
NorthEast United have very well so far. With eight points from the first four games- two wins and two draws-they are second behind league leaders Goa.
One of the reason for NorthEast’s second-best ever start to an ISL season has been the combination between star striker Bartholomew Ogbeche and attacking midfielder Federico Gallego.
Ogbeche has already scored five goals while Gallego has contributed a league-high of three assists. But the visitors are going to miss central defender Mislav Komorski who was shown a red card in the previous match against Jamshedpur .