Atletico de Kolkata coach Jose Molina is confident of returning to winning ways against North East United. File Pic.[/caption]Internet Desk: Atletico de Kolkata is all set to host North East United FC in what promises to be an evenly poised encounter here at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium in Kolkata tomorrow. Atletico de Kolkata will be looking to get back to winning ways on their home ground after their disappointing draw against Delhi Dynamos in their last outing.
North East United FC, themselves, hasn’t been in the best of forms after losing four matches in a trot. The Guwahati-based side was stunned by FC Goa in their last fixture as the former conceded a crucial goal in the dying hours of the match.
The two sides had earlier met in Guwahati almost a month ago – a match which went in favor of the Red and White brigade by 1-2.
With tomorrow’s fixture being evenly poised, slightly edging in favor of the home side perhaps, the one thing that will keep ATK head coach, Jose Molina a bit off-guard is perhaps the unavailability of Sameehg Doutie on the right flank.
“(Sameehg) Doutie is not available for tomorrow’s match. He is a really important player for us who has proven his class in the last few matches. It’s a huge loss for us before an important fixture,” the Spanish coach told the press.
“Injuries – unfortunately – are part and parcel of football. You can’t expect every footballer to be completely fit throughout the course of a long tournament like ISL. Although Doutie is out of the equation for tomorrow’s match, I have complete faith in my team to deliver a good result without him,” he added.
Despite the fact that the tournament is still wide open, Jose Molina believes that his team is in a comfortable position and there isn’t anything to worry about. “We have played fewer matches than the other teams and are still in the top four. So, I believe the situation – for us – is under control. But of course, we have to grab all the three points in tomorrow’s match to edge even closer to the semi-final stage.”
When asked whether he is satisfied with the performance of his forwards, Molina said, “I think we are playing an aggressive brand of football. If you look up the statistics at the ISL official website, I believe that we have the second-most number of shots on targets after Delhi Dynamos. We would – of course – like to score more goals but currently, I am quite satisfied with my set of strikers.”
The ATK goal-keeper, Debjit Majumder has been quite a revelation for the inaugural champions in the third season of the Hero Indian Super League. When asked whether he thinks Majumder – being the last line of defense – is the best defender of this side, the Spaniard replied, “Every great side must have a great goalkeeper. Debjit has been working really hard at the training and he has improved a lot as a goalkeeper. I am absolutely delighted with his performance in this edition of the Hero ISL.”
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