ISL 2022-23: If we play with this intensity, we will get more points: Odisha FC’s Josep Gombau

Odisha FC’s head coach Josep Gombau reckons if his team can continue the good show, they will get more points in the ongoing Hero Indian Super League 2022-23. The Kalinga Warriors played a 1-1 draw against FC Goa at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneshwar on Monday.

Moroccan striker Noah Sadaoui opened the scoring for the Gaurs in only the second minute. However, Odisha FC were able to bounce back before the first-half whistle as Diego Mauricio continued his good form to level the score. No teams could find the back of the net as both of them shared a point.

Gombau was disappointed with the result as his team dominated the game in the first half but could not convert their chances.

“Disappointed with the result because we did very well, especially in the first half. It’s a game where we should have got more reward (for our efforts). I’m not saying that we deserved to win because in the end, we played 30 minutes with 10 men and FC Goa had a lot of chances. But it’s true that eleven against eleven, in the first half, the game belonged to us. We cannot make a mistake like we did in the first half because if the opposition team beats you and scores a goal, but we gave the ball to them in an easy situation in the first minute and after that you have to chase the game,” Gombau said in the post-match press conference.

“The players played very well. We deserved to score the goal that we scored. In the second half, we had some chances too. With 10 men, it was more difficult. At this moment of the league, what is important is to not lose and we dropped in 1-4-1-4 formation and tried not to concede a goal that would bring FC Goa a lot of reward in trying to qualify for the top six. There are three more games, two at home and one away. If we play with this intensity, we will get more points. We will see where we are at the end of the season,” he added.

Gombau gave a second straight start to Vanlalruatfela, who once again impressed with his performance. The gaffer heaped praise on Vanlalruatfela for his performance and feels he can help the team in achieving the desired results.

“He is doing very well. We liked him a lot at the beginning of the season. He is a young player and he did very well. The moment when he got a chance in the starting eleven, he had a family issue where he had to leave the club for a while,” said Gombau.

“Now, he is back and we are happy to have him back because he is a player that has a lot of potential and can help us. We are happy to have him here.. He is a nice boy. He wants to work hard and wants to learn. I think Odisha FC have a good winger for the coming years,” Gombau added.

Odisha FC will next face Hyderabad FC on Friday at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar.