Kingfisher East Bengal Coach Khalid Jamil dismissed notions about East Bengal having an advantage against FC Goa in the Hero Super Cup semi-final stressing a?itas 11v11 on the field.a?
Reacting to comments about five FC Goa players staying suspended for the match, Jamil stated: a?In Football itas all played on the turf. You can never take things lightly. Itas all about that specific day,a? he stressed. a?FC Goa is a very good side and they will surely make it difficult for us.a?
Central defender Eduardo Ferreira, however, admitted that there is a?some pressurea? on the red and golds.
a?Every match is important and comes with its own pressure. Itas not going to be any different tomorrow,a? Eduardo Ferreira maintained. a?If you want to be successful you need to work hard and press harder all throughout. We wonat be taking it easy in training. Itas another final for us. We need to stay concentrated.a?
Jamil who was a player under FC Goa Coach Derrick Pereira in the dream Mahindra United squad rated his former coach very highly. a?Derrick is a great motivator. His teams are always defensively very strong,a? Jamil certified.
Meanwhile, Pereira informed that his players a?will put up their best.a?
a?We have five players suspended and there are also some injuries which have hit us hard. We have 14 players at the moment including 2 Goalkeepers and a lot of things are going on in my mind,a? Pereira stated. a?I am confident that whoever takes the field tomorrow will give their best. We have had a very good team throughout the season. Tomorrow is their chance to grab it. If you need to achieve results you need to perform,a? he added.
a?Obviously, the understanding and combination play on the pitch may be lacking as some of them may be playing for the first time. But we have trained together for long. The players are all professionals and know how to react to situations. East Bengal has a full squad but it wonat be easy for them.a?
Reiterating his Coachas views, Pratesh Shirodkar, player FC Goa said: a?We accept this challenge. All the players who havenat played so far are confident and we will work hard to get a victory.a?
The match is scheduled at 4 PM and it’ll be telecast on Star Sports 2/2 HD/1 Tamil/Suvarna Plus/Jalsha Movies/Asianet Movies and streamed live on Hotstar and Jio TV.
