ISL season 4: Goa look to seal pole position

Margao: FC Goa will look to consolidate their position at the top when they host FC Pune City in an Indian Super League match at the Nehru Stadium here on Saturday.

Top three teams FC Goa, Bengaluru FC and Chennaiyin FC each have 12 points but Goa are at the top of the table with a superior goal difference. Goa have played attractive football, scoring 10 goals in their last two matches, with their midfield and forwards resembling a well-oiled machine.

The Ferran Corominas—Manuel Lanzarote duo have been lethal, scoring 13 goals in between them. Corominas has netted nine times, including two hat-trick already. Fifth-placed Pune also have competent strikers like Marcelino and Alfaro.

Pune coach Ranko Popovic said stopping Corominas and Lanzarote will be a great challenge. Pune will miss striker Baljit Singh Sahani due to a red card he received in the previous match against Bengaluru FC.

“It is going to be a interesting as both the teams play an attacking game, have scored lot of goals and at the same time conceded goals. We made silly mistakes that resulted in us losing matches.

“FC Goa are playing attractive game and it is challenge for us to counter them. It is going to be a close contest and the team that commits less error will win tomorrow,” Popovic said. Goa coach Sergio Lobera said “Every match is a different game. We do not know if we will be able to score more goals as they are a good side and play an attacking game like us.”

“We have conceded too many goals but we are working hard in this respect and hopefully we succeeded tomorrow,” he added.

ATK eye three points against Delhi

Confident after their first win in their previous match, two-time champions ATK will look to log three points against wooden spooners Delhi Dynamos in an Indian Super League match in Kolkata on Saturday. The hosts beat Mumbai City 1-0 on December 17 and will hope to carry forward that momentum at the Saltlake Stadium. It was a much needed win for under-fire coach Teddy Sheringham as the victory lifted ATK from the bottom of the table to eighth, with five points.

“Hopefully, we will push on and get some more wins in the next few games. Everybody in the team is fit and raring to go,” defender Ryan Taylor said. Delhi have lost four  matches on the trot, a crushing 1-5 defeat by FC Goa dropping them to the bottom of the table.