NorthEast United FC Need A Draw To Earn Final Ticket Today

Preview ISL semi-final second leg

GUWAHATI: NorthEast United FC will look to hold onto their one-goal advantage when they face off against Bengaluru FC in the second leg of their semi-final encounter at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday.

Coming into the fixture on the back of a 2-1 first leg win in Guwahati, even a draw would suffice for the Highlanders to advance to the final on March 17. The margin of error, however, is a small one considering a 1-0 loss would see them bow out of the competition since Bengaluru do have the cushion of having scored an away goal in the first leg. In case the regulation time ends with a reverse scoreline of the first leg result, the tie will head into extra time..

NorthEast head coach Eelco Schattorie was available for the pre-match presser today and he also took questions from the media. To start it off, Schattorie was asked about an update on Rowllin Borges and Bartholomew Ogbeche, both of whom sustained hamstring injuries in the first leg. The Dutchman, however, opted to remain coy and said, “No updates. Let them guess. I am being strategic here and we’ll see tomorrow.”

Speaking of his plans for Monday’s match, Schattorie said, “We haven’t come here to lose. We are here to win. I have only 16 fit players left and they will go out to get the result. We know exactly how Bengaluru play and they’ll know how we play. Last match, we completely dominated in the first half. We lost two key players and in the second half, it was way more difficult. But coming here, we have only one thing in mind. It is all or nothing. We are going to go ahead and try to reach the final.”

When asked how he plans to set up his team despite the several injury absentees in the squad, the veteran coach replied, “In football, a team is a puzzle. Goa won 5-1 against Mumbai. I think it took them one and a half seasons to figure out that they needed an extra centre back. The moment that foreign centre back started playing, they had very good results. In a team, one player can make a big difference. If you lose key players early in the season, you have to go out and replace them but that is not always possible. So, now, I have to solve the puzzle and put out the strongest team.”

Also read: Local Sports