Chennai, Dec 12 Chennaiyin FC will look to register a win after three consecutive draws in the 2023-24 Indian Super League (ISL) when they take on Bengaluru FC in a Southern Derby at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, here on Wednesday.
The Marina Machans have played enthralling football in the last three matches, scoring six goals and head coach Owen Coyle believes that the team will be able to defend well at home to get three points from the upcoming match.
"The team you say is obviously on a winless run but if you want to reverse that, the team has lost one game in the last six matches. That's what facts and statistics are about but you're right in the last three games, there have been some poor performances and we were lucky to get a point, then you would think, oh, I'd be scratching my head. That's not the case. In every one of those games, we were the better team," commented Coyle ahead of the match.
He added," There were some things that went against us. Things happen in games, so, there's been some uncontrollable that's led to those draws. But what we know is that if we go and win the game tomorrow, then those three draws probably look a lot better because you won the game. So, that's the nature of football."
The Scotsman acknowledged the fact that Chennaiyin have played aggressive football in the previous few matches but also need to stop conceding goals to get back to winning ways.
"We know that we conceded goals, but the essence of what we're trying to do is very good. The performance level is very high, so we just need to fine-tune those little bits. Our games are probably the most exciting in the league. Our games are end-to-end because we commit to being very aggressive in our attacking play. But of course, we want to nullify the goals we're giving away," stated the head coach.
Coyle added, "We are doing a lot of nice things, what we have to do is bring it all together. We are focused on being in the playoffs. We want to be there and are working very hard for it. This is our main goal in the season. We perform well, of course, but we want to be there. We are working hard to do that."
Bengaluru FC have not been able to register a win in their last six games and will be without their former head coach Simon Grayson.
"The change of coach doesn't make Bengaluru vulnerable. It makes them even more dangerous because there must be a lot of players who will probably feel they've let their coach down a little bit because of the quality they have. So, it makes them even more dangerous," concluded Coyle.
In head-to-head records, Chennaiyin FC have won three matches and Bengaluru have notched victories in seven games, while three ended in draws.
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