ISL 2019 | All or nothing match for us against Hyderabad, states Josep Gombau
Odisha FC’s head coach Josep Gombau believes his team’s home match against Hyderabad FC on Wednesday is an all or nothing affair. Gombau’s men will go into their final home match in their temporary home in Pune in seventh spot, with just six points to their name from seven matches.Â
Despite putting in a strong performance, Odisha came away with no points to show after their match Looking ahead to the match against defending champions Bengaluru FC. Though the 0-1 loss left his team with just one win in seven this season, the Odisha boss remains keen to build on the positive aspects his players displayed.Â
“It is a massive game for us. It’s all or nothing, maybe. Because if we win against Hyderabad, we are with nine points, and we are close to the group who are fighting for the playoffs. If we don’t win, we are in the group which is very far away from the playoffs,” Gombau told ISL’s official website.
“It’s not just keeping the ball. It is not a game where the team which has more of the ball wins it. I think that we are creating chances and are arriving to the box of the opposition team. Last game against Bengaluru, we had 29 arrivals inside the box, which is a lot. I think we worked this week and prepared for the game well. I hope that against Hyderabad we can have the same performance we have been having in the last weeks,” Gombau added.
The Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium in Pune has served as Odisha’s temporary home ground so far this season. Though the boss pointed out the difficulty in playing away from their local fan base, he was thankful for the amount of support his team has received. “For us, it’s been difficult because we are not playing in Odisha, which is our home ground. We need to be very thankful for the support of the Pune people. We are satisfied here also as we could not have our own ground ready to play these three games,” he said.
Young goalkeeper Arshdeep Singh, who was seated alongside Gombau at the media briefing, stated that he was confident of his team’s chances against Hyderabad.Â
“The experience (of playing) has been good. We are very well prepared. We will go for the three points (against Hyderabad). We have a plan. So, we will stick to it. It’s going to be a tough match. They are a good opposition. They know the ground very well. But we know what to do. We have our plan. So, we will try to give our best and get all three points,” Arshdeep said.