NEW DELHI: Yet to taste victory in their last four outings, Chennaiyin FC will lock horns against an inconsistent FC Goa side in an ISL match at Fatorda Stadium on Saturday.
After beating Jamshedpur FC in their opening game, last year's runners-up Chennaiyin have managed two draws and a couple of losses. They sit eighth on the table with five points from as many games. Their opponents have had a topsy-turvy campaign themselves — two wins, two defeats and as many draws in six fixtures. But they are three points ahead of Chennaiyin at sixth.
Two-time champions Chennaiyin have been plagued by a lack of goals, with only three to their name so far. Two of those came in the opening game and only one has come in the last four.
"We want to use our strengths. We need to score goals. We should not be aggressive but focused when we get chances to score. If you don't score, you don't win. I don't want to push the responsibility on the players. This has also a little bit to do with your own confidence and may be because our preparation was not long. If you are out of football for six months and then come back and hit the ground running, it is not easy. I don't want to blame my players. But we must be focused. I want us to start scoring more goals even in training. We need to do that more and that confidence will come," explained coach Csaba Laszlo.
The Majority of Goa's goals have been struck by Igor Angulo. While the Gaurs have seven strikes to their name, the Spanish striker has six of them. He is currently leading the race for this season's Golden Boot. Goa have been undone by set-pieces and in both their losses (against Mumbai and ATK Mohun Bagan), they conceded last-minute penalties.
"Our target is to win. But sometimes you draw and lose, maybe because of a penalty. We want to do well with young players. We are not happy conceding late penalties. We also have to think about the spaces when we lose the ball and go on to concede the penalty. It is necessary to think what happened before the penalty," their coach Juan Ferrando reasoned.
Statistically, neutrals should be in for a treat. There has never been a goalless draw when Chennaiyin and Goa clashed and the fixture currently holds the record for the most number of goals scored (66).