ISL 2019 | Schattorie content with draw; Gombau irked by schedule

02/08/2019

ISL

NorthEast United FC's head coach Eelco Schattorie has shown his contention with a 1-1 result. Delhi Dynamos FC's boss Josep Gombau also felt that the final result was a fair reflection of how the match played out at the Indira Gandhi International Stadium in Guwahati on Thursday.

NorthEast United FC took on Delhi Dynamos which turned out to be a shocker for the hosting fans in Guwahati. The Highlanders team managed to earn a point but did not make too much progress up the ISL table. The goals came from Marcos Tebar in the 67th minute and Bartholomew Ogbeche in the 71st minute.

"It is clear (our squad is small). When we start this game, I’m never worried about the result. 50% of any game is organization and structure. That means you look at the qualities you have, and you try to find the best possible balance. For us, we have an issue at the back," said Northeast FC's coach Eelco Schattorie, when asked about how much of an effect the lack of depth in his squad had on the game.

"For us, we have an issue, especially at the back. Mislav (Komorski) goes out and you lose Lenh and a certain stability that you can’t replace right away."

He chose to start with midfielder Jose Leudo over Gurwinder Singh in defence in the absence of first choice centre half player Mislav Komorski, but was forced to bring in back in place of Redeem Tlang. This change helped Leudo move up further forward into the centre of midfield, which in turn allowed the Highlanders to get a better control over the match. Explaining the tactical switch.

"I chose to not start with Gurwinder because the beginning of the game is not settled and that can create problems for him. So, I started with Leudo but after 15-20 minutes I made a change and we got a better grip on the game. It changed more in our favour. But then the next step, the way I like to play, we lost something because Gurwinder is not that type of a player. Offensively we lost a bit," Schattorie added.

The Dutch coach also expressed his happiness with the performance and stated that he was content with the 1-1 result explaining saying, “The amount of chances we created, I think we did very well. The quality in the final pass was lacking maybe but that is not easy. However, I won't be negative. It was a very positive point and I am happy with it.”

“I think Delhi are one of the better teams. In the beginning of the season, I said they are a good team. They have really good Indian players. I’m 100% sure that if this team had a good striker who is lethal, they would be in a much better position. The coach also plays decent football. Their performance was good."

Meanwhile, Delhi boss Josep Gombau also felt that the final result was a fair reflection of how the match was played out between both the teams.

"Yes, I think the result is fair. In the first-half, the first 20 minutes, we were in control of the game and after that NorthEast took control of the game. In the transition, both sides were attacking. I think we missed good chances in the first-half. NorthEast also had chances and they hit the post. I think the draw is fair."

Providing an overall assessment of his squad the veteran coach said, "I think all the players are doing well. I think we are really doing well this season, not just now but throughout all the games. The problem is we are not taking our chances. We have chances to score goals in every single game but we are missing. We don’t really have a number 9 who can score goals."

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