ISL 2019-20 | Unsatisfied Josep Gombau laments poor game of football
Odisha FC head coach Josep Gombau has lamented the way Odisha FC played against Kerala Blasters FC in the goalless draw in Kochi on Friday. Moreover, the coach updated about the collision injury of star striker Aridane Santana and the factors led to the disappointing goalless draw.
Odisha FC came into the game with high confidence after their win over Mumbai City 4-2, however, the newcomers could not play a dominant football like the previous game against an injury-laden Kerala Blasters in Kochi on Friday. The Kalinga team could not create chances and could only share the spoils in the slow game with the goalless draw.
Odisha could not create many goal scoring chances in the slow game, and coach Josep Gombau, who was confident of a win before the match, lamented the poor football played by Odisha and expressed his dissatisfaction with the single point.
"We came here to try to win the game. For me, it was a poor game of football. Both sides did not have many chances, it was a slow game. This is the kind of game that we should only get a point from and I am not satisfied with the way we played.” said Josep Gombau to the reporters at the post-match conference, ISL website reported.
Odisha FC faced a severe blow with the injury of star Spanish striker Aridane Santana. The striker, who has three goals in the season from four games, collided with Kerala's Cameronian striker Messi Bouli in the Kerala box in the 26th minute. Both players had to leave the field.
“It was a knock between two players, and he was taken to the hospital. He is an important player because he is our target-man. Kerala were also missing some important players. He is fine but at the moment he is under observation.” said Gombau.
The coach also went on to discuss the factors about the dismal performance of Odisha and also revealed why Odisha captain Marcos Tebar was substituted at the beginning of the second half.
“I think that there are many factors. I think that every single pass, the way that we played was very slow. The players told me that it was very humid and they could not go faster. We lost small balls. Also, one of our builders, Marcos Tebar had an upset stomach. He could not continue. It was one of these days that nothing works. I cannot tell anyone anything because everyone put in a big effort in the game. This is what I demand from everybody as a coach.”
