For Chennaiyin FC these are hard times. Having lost all its three matches, the defending champion has a task at hand when it meets Delhi Dynamos in the Hero Indian Super League match at the Nehru Stadium on Tuesday.
Not that Dynamos have enjoyed a good run. They have lost one and drawn two matches.
As the DD coach Josep Gombau observed, “It’s a very important game for us. We’ve played three games in nine days. The team is progressing well and we are playing against a good team. Important thing is we are playing good football.”
Dynamos, however, have not played good football consistently. There have been issues in the defence, and the forwards too have fumbled inside the box. Even as goalkeeper Francisco Dorronsoro has come up with some outstanding saves the Dynamos have failed to plug the loopholes when tackling counter attacks.
Gombau refused to blame individuals.
“We are a team and don’t differentiate. When we win we win together. When we lose we lose together. It is a team game,” said the DD coach.
For Chennaiyin coach John Gregory, there was no reason to panic. “The boys have been good and fit. We are expecting a tough game but the confidence is very high.
“We certainly don’t have any problems with the way the players have approached every game. It’s just that we made a couple of big defensive mistakes which we rarely made last season. We need to string two or three victories to target the playoffs.”
Praise for Thoi
Gregory heaped praise on Thoi Singh, who scored two of the three goals in the 3-4 defeat against NorthEast United. “Thoi plays with his heart. He has a fantastic pair of lungs and gives it everything. I wouldn’t want to play against him. He has got loads and loads of energy.”