East Bengal FC will be looking to put behind the frustration of successive away defeats and pick up its first points of the Indian Super League 2024-25 season when it hosts FC Goa at the Salt Lake Stadium on Friday.
The red and gold brigade is returning home from an unrewarding trip from the South where it conceded narrow losses against Bengaluru FC (0-1) and Kerala Blasters FC (1-2) and would be eager to make a turnaround in its fortunes in front of the home supporters. This becomes necessary for the side, which has been persistently underperforming since joining the league early in the decade and needs some good results to brighten things up this season.
The task will be difficult as East Bengal runs up against one of the tournament’s heavyweights in FC Goa, which also enjoys a healthy record with five wins in eight meetings in the ISL so far.
The match will be important for Goa too as it reached the city after losing its opening home game against Jamshedpur before it managed a 1-1 draw with an injury-time equalizer against Mohammedan Sporting. Goa has another determined host East Bengal challenging its prowess in its second appearance in Kolkata in successive weeks.
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This surely promises an end-to-end action as both teams look for gains to stabilize their rocking boats early in the season. East Bengal head coach Carles Cuadrat is already facing vitriol from the fans after the successive losses the team suffered in its away matches.
More than the two losses, the East Bengal fans seemed to be more agitated by the lack of intensity in the team’s performance. The seasoned Spanish coach will be trying to invoke a sense of urgency in the players and look for the points necessary to set the team on the course of recovery. What may be worrying Cuadrat is the team’s hesitancy in the attacking third where the finishing has been less than satisfactory.
“We have been working a lot on converting chances. We have been training a lot of days on how to make the right pass and get the right finishing. It’s a question of quality, technique, and the right decision at the right moment. And we are working on that. I am sure that the guys are going to improve with training,” Cuadrat said ahead of the match.
FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez is concerned with his team’s sedate start to the tournament, having registered just one point in two matches.
“We are not in a good moment, especially mentally. It is not a problem physically or technically because we know the kind of players that we have. But the team seems tired,” Marquez said while expressing his concern about the lethargic approach of his team.
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