Indian Football League

Match 28: HFC vs. NEUFC

Preview

After not a very good start in the league, NorthEast will be desperate for all three points. Their opponent of the day, Hyderabad is in a much better place. Standing 5th in the table, the yellow brigade has already defeated two former champions of the competition. Against Mumbai, they won 3-1 while they defeated Bengaluru by 1-0 in their last match. Thus, it is not going to be easy for Khalid Jamil and his boys who are currently 9th in the league. However, with a win they can move up into the table and then go all in for the semi-finals spot.

Things however aren’t that simple. The team looks miserable this season as the Highlanders have lost three of their last five matches. Khalid Jamil helped the team reach the semi-finals last year but the kind of football they are playing; it’s just not difficult but looks impossible for them to qualify for the semis. Federico Gallego’s injury has definitely hurt the team and their defense is just miserable. Conceding eight goals from five matches, Khalid Jamil doesn’t have enough options to try. Suhair VP has shown some glimpses of what he can do in the attack and that should be the formula for Khalid Jamil going forward. Since their defense is pretty bad, they should apply the mantra that states, ‘attack is the best form of defense’.

The assistant coach of the Highlanders, Alison Kharsyntiew is however confident that his team will bounce back. They are creating a lot of chances and the team should be hopeful that the tables will turn. In the pre match press conference Alison said, “In the last game, we played very well. In the first half, the boys played with so much confidence, and they were very flexible in the attack. But the only thing is that we were not clinical in the final third. So that’s something we need to work in the training, and then try to implement it in the match. But I'm sure that the players are mentally very strong. So yeah, they will bounce back”.

Hyderabad should be confident to win the game. They have a rock solid defense and NorthEast has to give their all and still may fail to score. The biggest plus point of Hyderabad will be that they have Bartholomew Ogbeche in their team. Against a poor defense, he can run havoc and will be looking to improve his goal scoring tally. Chinglensana Singh has also been fantastic for the club. Thus, Hyderabad should definitely look for the win and move up to 2nd in the table behind the defending champions Mumbai.

Coach Manuel Marquez however thinks that the match is not going to be an easy one. In the pre match press conference, he said, “I disagree that they are in their worst run of form. They played a quality game in some moments. I don’t think they deserved to lose against Odisha. Regarding my team, as I always say, every team will be difficult, every team can beat their opponent. I’m sure that Monday’s game will be a difficult one for both sides. The style of NorthEast United is good, they have quality foreign players, and the Indian players are very disciplined too”.

When asked about the foreign players of his team and how different they are from their oppositions, the coach stressed how important Indian players are in the tournament. He said, “We’re happy with all the players, all the foreign players. I don’t know about the opinion of the other coaches, but the difference lies in the Indian players because you have to play at least seven Indian players and it matters. If you have a top scorer like Angulo [Igor] or Krishna [Roy], it’s a great asset for the team. But for me, at this moment, the difference is the quality of the Indian players. Of course, it’s a learning stage and there are and will be a lot of mistakes but like everything in life, you have to learn about this, and I think several players will improve after this season. I repeat, I am delighted with our foreign players, but the key lies in the Indian players”.

HFC vs. NEUFC Predicted Line Ups

HFC - Laxmikant Kattimani (GK), Asish Rai, Chinglensana Singh, Juanan, Akash Mishra, Hitesh Sharma, Joao Victor (c), Mohammad Yasir, Joel Chianese, Aniket Jadhav, Bartholomew Ogbeche

NEUFC - Subhasish Roy Chowdhury (c & gk), Provat Lakra, Hernán Santana, Patrick Flottmann, Gurjinder Kumar, Sehnaj Singh, Khassa Camara, Mathias Coureur, Rochharzela,  Lalkhawpuimawia, V.P. Suhair

Match Prediction

Like said, Hyderabad are clear favourites to win the game and Bartholomew Ogbeche is very likely to get a couple of them. Subhasish RoyChowdhury has indeed been very good in the season but it is going to be a very difficult game for the men in white. You can also expect a clean sheet from the Hyderabad team.

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