Twice in their last two matches, the Kerala Blasters' men were in the lead, and twice they lost. Blasters will desperately be hoping for a reversal of their fortunes when they take on Odisha FC in the battle between the basement dwellers in the Indian Super League at the Fatorda Stadium, Margao, on Thursday.
Odisha is lying at the bottom of the 11-team league, with eight points, and has little hopes of making the playoffs. It is not all over yet mathematically for Blasters, which has 15 points, but it cannot afford another defeat. And it certainly won't want a repeat of the result when the two teams met the first time around this season.
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Odisha had triumphed 4-2 in a goal fest a month ago. That, however, remains the only win of the season for Odisha, which has since played six games.
Kerala, of course, has fared much better and has to its credit three wins, but its inability to finish the job after beginning well should be cause for concern for coach Kibu Vicuna. “Our objective is to get 12 points (from our remaining four matches) but we will take it step-by-step,” he said.
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“Tomorrow is an opportunity to get the points and be closer to the teams that have better chances of qualifying for the playoffs.”
His counterpart, Gerald Peyton, acknowledged Kerala was a strong side. “I think they’ve got some good players.,” he said.
“Tactically, we know how they play and will match them in every area. They play a 4-4-2 and we are going to play the same way. We are going to make it difficult for them and I think we can do the double over them.”
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