Chennai, March 8 After a spectacular show against the table-toppers Odisha FC in their last game, Chennaiyin FC will be high on confidence as they host Hyderabad FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Saturday.
With Ankit Mukherjee and Jordan Murray getting themselves on the scoresheet in style, Owen Coyle’s men turned the tables against the Kalinga Warriors to earn a much-needed three points. It was Chennaiyin’s fifth win of the season and, interestingly, three of their last five defeats have come with a narrow margin of 0-1.
Head coach Coyle feels that the Marina Machans have been very consistent in their performances.
“We’ve been very consistent...We beat Kerala [Blasters] on merit. We were the better team and could easily have beaten Mumbai [City FC]. Certainly deserved something in that game. We were better [against East Bengal]. We lost the game because we made an error. But we create chances. So we’ve been playing well and then obviously a fantastic performance against Odisha,” Coyle told the media during a pre-match press conference on Friday.
Midfielder Farukh Choudhary also echoed the head coach’s sentiment as he said: “As a team, we have been performing really well. I think we are the team that creates a lot of chances. But the only important thing, we have to be more clinical in front of the goal. I think we are in a very good position right now [in the playoffs race]. If we get maximum points tomorrow, we are back in the race.”
Hyderabad are currently languishing at rock bottom on the points table and are yet to register a win this season. Though Coyle believes that it is an opportunity for his side to secure three points, he warned his men to be cautious about the possible danger.
“We have to replicate that Odisha performance particularly tomorrow because it is the most dangerous game of the season. Because this young Hyderabad team is full of spirit, they’ve got nothing to lose and they play with that freedom.
“But what we know, as we always know, is that when we are at our very best, we can stand toe-to-toe with anybody. We’ve been doing very well, performing well and it’s an opportunity for us to be at maximum and win those three points and put a smile on our fans’ faces,” Coyle further added.
In the previous nine meetings between these two sides in the ISL, Chennaiyin have won on four occasions while two games have ended in a draw. Chennaiyin claimed a victory during their visit to Hyderabad earlier this season and will be aiming to complete a league double with a win on Saturday.
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