Indian Football League

Match 44: ATKMB vs. FCG

Preview

It’s like the battle of two brothers. There’s so much history between these two football based states. On top of that, Goa’s coach has given his resignation and joined the Mariners earlier in the month. That raised a lot of questions and Ferrando’s intentions. This is not going to be an easy outing for the Spaniard and he himself knows that. The green and maroon brigade needs a win in order to move to the top four while Goa will be looking to damage Mohun Bagan and take the revenge.

With a new coach in charge in the form of Derrick Pereira, Goa can be dangerous. Pereira has a lot of experience and he has worked with Goa after Sergio Lobera left the club. He knows some of the players and he knows how the team can play and what the team represents. It is definitely not going to an easy encounter as many of his fast team members are out because of injury. Brandon Fernandes, Glan Martins, and Romario are the ones who will not be taking a part in the match and in the pre match press conference; the coach confirmed three more players won’t be playing in the match as they are suffering from food poisoning. Edu Bedia and Jorge Ortiz are going to be very important for the Gaurs. Their defense however needs to find stability because the likes of Roy Krishna, Hugo Boumous and Liston Colaco will take advantage of every gap that they find. The best way to stop the Mariners is to block their central midfield. Pressing against them is a brilliant idea and Goa should totally do that. They however need to note that their defense is stabilized against the counter attack from their Mariners.

The coach in the pre match press conference said that Ferrando knows too much about the Gaurs. “He knows the players in and out, he’s been working with them for the last 1.5 or 2 years and we know what he’s going to bring to the table from the ATKMB side. We have a plan in place to counter the same. Our players are determined, focused, and motivated to play and get good results''. Speaking about Nongdamba Naorem, the last match, the coach said, “He performed well in the first half, and in the second half also he gave his best. The players have a winning mentality in them, and they want to go out there, perform and get results. But we need to control ourselves, our pace, our intensity, and you know, go in a way to see how we can get reserved. So, on those lines we lost the shape of the team a bit and then confused some of our youngsters”.

When it comes to the green and maroon brigade, the team is very balanced with a coach of Ferrando’s stature; the team is expected to do well. Their problem however lies in the defense. Even in their last match against NorthEast, they conceded twice and it’s clear like the daylight that they are missing Sandesh Jhingan in the defense and Tiri is no more the same. Amrinder Singh was brought in this year with the thought that he can perform superbly but that hasn’t been the case at all. The attacking division is however the exact opposite. They are a well oiled team and like mentioned before, Hugo Boumous, Roy Krishna and Liston Colaco have been fantastic for the team. Only Manvir Singh needs to shine and show his form. Just like he performed in the last year for the club.

In the pre match press conference, Coach Ferrando admitted that it is going to be tough for him. He said, “My feelings are difficult to explain because in two days I changed a lot of things. And for me it's difficult to accept a lot of changes. The most important thing is to work now in our club. I wish all the best to Goa because sometimes it's necessary to make these decisions”. Speaking about his time with the green and maroon so far, the coach said, “I think at this moment it's like expectation, the players are looking to go step by step. They are thinking about who is the target of the coach. And also, for me, I try to find the best options for the players. Day by day, we keep control of these feelings. But I understand it's difficult because when you have a pre-season, you have more time to explain tactics, maybe you have more time to repeat some exercise now. At this moment it's difficult because we are in the middle of the season. But I'm happy because the players want to learn. They asked me a lot of time. This is good for us”.

ATKMB vs. FCG Predicted Line Ups

ATKMB – Amrinder Singh (GK), Subhasish Bose, Pritam Kotal (c), Tiri, Deepak Tangri, Carl Mchugh, Lenny Rodrigues, Manvir Singh, Hugo Boumous, Roy Krishna, Liston Colaco

FCG - Dheeraj Singh, Aibanbha Dohling, Ivan Garrido Gonzalez, Mohamed Ali, Saviour Gama, Seriton Fernandes, Alberto Noguera Ripoll, Edu Bedia (c), Princeton Rebello, Devendra Murgaonkar, Airan Cabrera Lopez

Match Prediction

It will be a good match but won’t be an easy one for the Gaurs. The Mariners know the Goan players inside out and they will definitely take the advantage of that.  Thus, the Mariners should get all three points but also expect Gaurs to give a good fight.

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