Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], November 3 : Ahead of Northeast United's game against Odisha FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Friday, the Highlanders head coach Juan Pedro Benali praised the Juggernauts and said that they have a great team with great players.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Benali said that Odisha FC played against a good team in their previous game. He added that they need to keep going even if they score or concede early in the match.
"It's (Odisha FC) a great team with great players, with a good coach. They played against a good team (Bengaluru FC) also. This is football. If you don't kill totally, you get killed. It's a big lesson for us, that's been, we need to keep going. If we score, we need to keep going. If they score, we need to keep going. This is the lesson we take from their game or from our (previous) game," Benali said in the pre-match press conference as quoted by ISL's website.
In their previous two away matches against Kerala and Punjab, Northeast United dropped points even after taking an early lead. Talking about it, Benali said that they played against two difficult teams.
"I don't think we drop points. It's the contrary. We have a point. We were playing away. We were playing against two difficult teams, especially Punjab FC. It was a game that they needed to take a point because if not, they would be in big trouble. I say it, I will say, and I say it again, the field in Delhi, it's a very, very difficult field to play. It's not easy. It's very hard. And Kerala, what do I say about Kerala? I mean it was a great point, very difficult for other teams to take a point (at that venue)," he added.
Talking about Manvir Singh's recovery from injury, the head coach said that he is in the process of rehab now and has started to work in the field.
"Manvir is in the process of rehab now. He started to work in the field. We hope now, in the break he will be working more, touching the ball, and I think he will be in the group after the break," he concluded.
northeast are coming into their upcoming after defeating Jamshedpur FC by 2-1. They currently stand in fifth place on the ISL standing with eight points. The match between Northeast and Odisha will kick off at 8:00 PM IST.
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