Goa: FC Goa is looking for an emphatic win against Odisha FC in the 2021-22 Indian Super League match at the Tilak Maidan Stadium, here Friday.
FC Goa parted ways with Juan Ferrando and turned back to Derrick Pereira in a frantic last few days which saw Ferrando join ATK Mohun Bagan after Antonio Lopez Habas vacated his chair at the helm.
A veteran tactician in Indian football, Pereira is not expected to be on the touchline on Friday as he has to undergo mandatory quarantine before he links up with the squad in the bio-bubble.
“It was a shocking call for me to take charge of the FC Goa team, whose aim is to always be on top. I have been in touch with the players virtually and can’t wait to be with them. I have see the amount of hard work the boys have put in. It’s just the results haven’t come our way. We need to continue what we have been doing and I am sure we will start getting results,” Pereira said.
Goa are eighth in the points table having seven points from six games. They have not lost in their last three outings, winning two of them in a bid to turn a corner after three successive losses to start the season. Goa were held to a 1-1 draw by Hyderabad FC in their last engagement but the team showed fight and marked improvements from their first three games.
Odisha, meanwhile, need to reverse their recent run of form. The Kiko Ramirez-coached side have been winless in the last two games and have dropped to seventh in the table from six matches.
In their six games this season in Hero ISL, Odisha FC have scored 12 goals, an average of 2 goals a game but have lacked that consistency in the final third.
Kiko Ramirez is, however, concerned about the defence consistently leaking goals. “Maybe it is good for the neutrals but we as a coaching unit our main priority is not letting in goals in any game. We need to work hard and implement our strategies in the game,” he said.
IANS
