FC Goa will seek to snap a rampaging Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s eight-match unbeaten streak in the Indian Super League (ISL) when the two sides square off in a 12th round match here on Friday.
FC Goa, under India head coach Manolo Marquez, will also aim to improve their record against the Mariners, having lost five of their eight meetings in the ISL, including a narrow 0-1 defeat in their most recent fixture in February.
Super Giant’s unbeaten run has seen them win seven and draw one of their last eight ISL games, and that has put them on top of the league leaderboard with 26 points from 11 matches, winning eight, drawing twice and losing once.
On the other hand, the Gaurs are placed fourth with 19 points from the same number of games. Both these teams have been in equally efficient form upfront, with the Kolkata-based side netting 22 times in the competition thus far, as compared to the 21 of the Goan club.
However, the visitors have been comparatively better organised at the back, as they have conceded 10 goals as opposed to the 15 of FC Goa. Head-to-head, FC Goa have won twice, whereas Super Giant have emerged victorious five times in the eight times these two teams have faced each other in the ISL.
FC Goa head coach Marquez admitted that the Mariners have a nice mix of international and domestic stars that make them a strong opponent. “I feel that we are playing one of the strongest teams in the competition. Mohun Bagan have most of the top national team players, and they’ve spent a lot on getting good foreigners too,” Marquez said.
“We need to keep fighting to win” Super Giant head coach Jose Molina lauded his team for not giving up under any circumstance. “The mentality of Mohun Bagan Super Giant is to fight every game till the end. We have to attack and defend well, communicate properly, but most importantly we need to keep fighting to get the win,” Molina said.
