Goa: After winning their first two games ATK Mohun Bagan FC are in a hunt of making three out of three on Thursday against Odisha FC. No doubt the match has already been termed as David vs Goliath and ATKMB has been termed as the out and out favorite before the match.
The two teams have played only two games till now in this year’s ISL, but already the difference between the two sides been spotted. Odisha FC has a good side but they lack combination. No doubt they made a fierce comeback against Jamshedpur FC in their last game after going two-goal down in the first half, but ATKMB is a different side.
They are considered to be one of the clubs who should qualify for the play-offs. They are the only side who haven’t conceded a single goal after their first two games. It won’t be easy for Odisha FC to make or break in this match, they need something special.
Roy Krishna, David Williams, Manvir Singh, Sandesh Jhingan are living on cloud nine at this moment. The victory against their fierce rivals SC East Bengal FC has shown how they are prepared as a side. They play the natural counter-attacking game and the likes of Krishna and Williams at the top help the side to fetch important goals.
This has been the strategy of Antonio Lopez Habas. He breaks the team from the middle and also from the wing. He has always preferred quick players on his side and the likes of Manvir and Prabir Das have provided him with that.
“We have to continue winning matches, this is the idea. The players are very confident and are professionals. We want to win the matches and not think about our position on the table. Odisha have a good coach with a fantastic CV. It will be a good match,” Habas said in the pre-match press conference.
Stuart Baxter knows that he will face one of the favourites of the ISL on Thursday. He knows that he has got players like Marcelinho Leite, Manuel Onwu, Vinit Rai, Steven Taylor to stop the unbeaten run of ATKMB and earn their first victory of the season. But the way the team of Odisha has performed it will be an area of concern for Baxter how and which way he will stop the Krishna effect. But he has been confident before the match.
In the pre-match press conference, Baxter said, “Diego had a massive impact when he came on in the last game. Manuel [Onwu] plays very well with the other players. In my mind, I need to decide whether I start with Diego or Manuel. That is a call I have to make.”
