Margao, November 5: Riding high on four wins out of five matches, a confident Punjab FC will try to maintain their excellent start to the season when they face FC Goa in the Indian Super League tomorrow here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Panagiotis Dilmperis’s men got the better of Chennaiyin FC 3-2 in their last fixture at New Delhi while Manolo Marquez scripted an excellent 3-0 victory over league leaders, Bengaluru FC, at home. Currently, Punjab is placed third in the table with 12 points while FC Goa is seventh with 9 points from 7 matches. The match at the Fatorda Stadium will kick off at 7:30 pm.
Speaking about tomorrow’s opponents, PFC Head Coach Panagiotis Dilmperis said, “FC Goa is a good team with good players and with a great Head Coach who has specific plans for attack and defence. It is a home game for them and it is not going to be easy for us but I believe we are prepared and plan to achieve a positive result tomorrow. We have to pull them out of their comfort zone and make them adapt to our way of playing.” Expanding on Punjab FC’s performance so far in the ISL and how other teams are viewing them as serious competition Dilmperis added,
“I don’t know how other teams think about us but now they respect us for doing something different at the start of this season when compared to the previous season. I am happy for the start we have made and we hope to sustain the momentum going forward.”
Punjab FC are bolstered by the return of Luka Majcen from injury, who scored twice in the last fixture taking his tally to three goals from two appearances in the season. The Shers have been fluent in attack, with Ezequiel Vidal and Nihal Sudeesh down the wings and the midfield trio of Nikhil Prabhu, Filip Mrzljak and Vinit Rai manning the midfield with authority. Dilmperis has used his bench strength efficiently, especially with Mushaga Bakenga, Asmir Suljic, Leon Augustine and Ricky Shabong influencing the game whenever being called upon.
PFC Defender Ivan Novoselec during the pre-match press conference said, “We will play the way we have been throughout the season and the objective will be to make the most from the good start to the season. As professionals we are all aware of changing scenarios in a game and we are well prepared to tackle them, according to our plans. FC Goa are strong opponents, but we have the momentum on our side and that is something they are aware of as well.”
Punjab FC went down to FC Goa by a solitary goal in October last season at Goa while the reverse fixture saw both teams share points in a six-goal thriller at New Delhi.
FC Goa have been inconsistent throughout the season, winning two matches against East Bengal and Bengaluru while losing to Mumbai City and Jamshedpur FC in identical 2-1 scores. They drew the remaining three matches against Mohammedan SC, NorthEast United and Chennaiyin FC. Armandu Sadiku has already scored seven goals in the season and will be the main threat in front of goal while Borja Gonzalez has scored four, including a hat-trick. Manolo Marquez will look to have his defensive tactics on point against Punjab, as they have already conceded 12 goals in the season.
Punjab FC will look to continue on their merry run against FC Goa who will have the support of their passionate home fans at the Fatorda.
