Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
An intriguing contest is in the offing as Delhi Dynamos will take on face ATK in their second match of the 5th Hero Indian Super League on Wednesday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.
The hosts , in their first match, had drawn (1-1) with against FC Pune City while the visitors, suffered back-to-back defeats against Kerala Blasters and North East United FC respectively .Both the teams will go into the match seeking their first win of the season .
Delhi Dynamos has not been among the most consistent teams of the league. Their performances left lot to be desired as they finished eighth in the last season.
However for the city team there is a good news before the match. Their all-time top scorer Kalu Uche and Daniel Lahlimpuia are back in the team .But there is a doubt about midfielder Bikramjit Singh’s fitness .He had sustained a calf injury against Pune.
ATK will be without defender Sena Ralte as he is serving his suspension after receiving second yellow against NorthEast United. Sena Ralte was a part of the Delhi Dynamos team till last season .
The visitors have yet to find the rhythm and coach Steve Coppell ‘s famous defensive tactics have not proved effective. Having conceded three goals already, the coach may effect some changes. Debjit Majumder is likely to replace Arnidam.
Defenders Vieira and John Johnson are among the few ATK players who have played well so far. They have put in some effort to clear the ball evading danger .Coppell may also consider changing off colour El Maimouni and bring in Eugenson Lyngdoh.
In the last game, Dynamos had several chances but they failed to convert them into goal.Head Coach Josep Gombau believes that his players are working according to the plan.
“Last game we had a lot of chances and we missed. To win games you need to take these chances and we are working on that. Good thing is that we created chances. That’s the difficult thing in football.”
The visitors boast a strong squad in terms of attack and Gombau is well aware of the threat “ATK have a very good game. They have many good players in the side. Tomorrow will be a difficult game for us.”
The hosts who will be playing after a two -week break, due to international fixtures, and their defender Rana Gharami maintained that a long gap has allowed his team to prepare well for this game.
“We had a long break and that has given us a lot of time to figure this ATK team out. They have a strong team with really good foreign players so its going to be hard for us defenders, but we are confident heading into this game.”
“We were really close to winning the last match but that ended as a draw and it was a big disappointment for us. This is a must win encounter for both the sides, so we really need to give our best,” Rana added.
In the game against Pune, local boy Shubham Sarangi made his debut for the senior team and the teenager is confident of getting more such opportunities in this season .”I am happy the coach believed in me and gave me It was a dream come true for me and I want to make the most of these chances. I’ll keep working hard and make sure that I can retain my place in the side.”