Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
It is going to be battle for two win less teams desperate to collect their first three full points as hosts Delhi Dynamos take on defending Champions Chennaiyin in their third home match of the Indian Super League Season on Tuesday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.
The only difference between two teams is that Delhi has two points from three matches (Two draw and a loss) while Chennaiyin has lost all their three matches
The hosts have drawn FC Pune and lost to ATK at home while securing a draw against Kerala Blasters in a away game.
We created history in last season's @IndSuperLeague match against @DelhiDynamos the road, as #MailsonAlves scored our 100th goal in the competition in a 1-1 draw!#PoduMachiGoalu#DELCHE pic.twitter.com/RnIaMp83TZ
— Chennaiyin F.C. (@ChennaiyinFC) October 21, 2018
While Lallianzuala Chhangte and Romeo Fernandes have shown glimpses of their quality, lack of composure in front of goal is telling. Delhi’s profligacy has seen them score only three goals despite fashioning countless opportunities.
Explaining the team’s performance so far, Delhi chief coach Josep Gombau “We are a new team. We are trying to play a new style of football. This is something that cannot happen in one day. I think we deserve more than the two points we have because, in all the three games, we had chances to win the game,”
“The important thing is that we are playing good football. We are creating chances and when we convert them, we will win matches. I hope that we win,” .
About match against Chennaiyin , the coach said “They are the defending champions and we can’t afford to take them lightly. They have a strong squad a very good coach. It will be a really tight game tomorrow and I’m hoping we can land our first win of the season.”
One thing which is in favoure before the match that it has no fresh fitness concerns barring Midfielder Marcos Tebar who is nursing a hamstring injury.
“I’m hoping Tebar will be ready in time for this match. He is a very important player but if he can’t play then I have players to fill in that role. My players can play in multiple positions,” the coach said
On the other hand defending champions also had a hard start to the season, following three defeats in a row so far. They squandered a 3-1 advantage in their last game against North East United as they slumped to a 4-3 defeat at home
Chennaiyin looks a tentative and struggling side .The squad is feeling the absence of injured Dhanpal Ganesh, as none of their other midfielders, including Anirudh Thapa and Germanpreet Singh, have been able to control the proceedings.
Offering no excuses, Chennaiyin coach John Gregory said “We obviously know that we are playing against Delhi. They have a couple of our old players (Rene Mihelic and Bikramjit Singh) from last season who have both won gold medals (from last season). We are expecting a tough game,” “
“You can always look at the reason why we have not started so well. But the effort that the boys have put in for all three matches is incredible.
“I certainly have no problems with the way that they have approached the games. It is just that we have made a couple of defensive mistakes. Big mistakes, which we rarely made last season in the 18 regular season matches,” He added