Goa eye win against Mumbai

GOA: Having registered their first victory of the season, FC Goa would look to keep the winning momentum going all through the top when they take on Mumbai City FC at home in a Hero Indian Super League match here on Wednesday.
With four points from two games, the Gaurs have made a positive start to the fifth season of the tournament.
Sergio Lobera’s men would have been a little disappointed to walk away with a 2-2 draw in their opening fixture against NorthEast United FC but made their intentions clear in the next game with a stunning 3-1 win away from home against defending champions Chennaiyin FC.
Despite losing the services of prolific playmaker Manuel Lanzarote to ATK, Goa boasts of strong attacking line and they proved that by scoring five goals scored in two matches so far.
Last season’s Golden Boot winner Ferran Corominas has also shown no signs of slowing down and has already scored three goals in two appearances in the ongoing tournament.
“We always try to play an attacking brand of football and the idea is to win the game. That’s the most important thing. If you’re asking me if we are going to attack less so that we don’t concede, the answer is no. The idea is simple which is to try and attack like we did last year,” said Goa coach Lobera.
In defence, Mourtada Fall has been an excellent addition with the Senegalese adept at bringing the ball out from the back. Chinglensana Singh too has shown improvement in his defensive abilities.
Mumbai City, on the other hand, come into game on the back of an impressive 2-0 win over FC Pune City in the first Maharashtra derby of the season.
Jorge Costa’s men had a stuttering start to their campaign with a home defeat against Jamshedpur FC followed by a 1-1 draw against Kerala Blasters.
“Goa have a very good team and a very good coach. It’s easy to understand what they want to do on the pitch. I will not speak of individual players but we are going to have a difficult game for sure. We respect them a lot but we also know what to do,” said Costa.
Costa will be glad to see Senegalese strike Modou Sougou get off the mark against Pune. He would also be hoping for Brazilian Rafael Bastos to find his form after a lacklustre start to the campaign.
Mumbai’s attack had been toothless at the start with the Brazilian struggling for any rhythm but his penalty against Pune might just get his confidence back.
Arnold Issoko has looked like an inspired buy for Mumbai with the Congolese showing his prowess in a man-of-the-match display in the Maharashtra derby. (PTI)