SC East Bengal and Odisha FC are set to clash tonight at 7:30 PM. Odisha FC are on the back of a huge 3-1 win against Marco Pezzaiuoli’s Bengaluru FC while on the other hand, Manuel Diaz’s SC East Bengal suffered a heavy loss to ATK Mohun Bagan in the Kolkata Derby which was held on 27th this month. The loss could have been heavier as their opponents scored 3 in the opening 30 minutes. Things got worse when their star signing Arindam Bhattacharya had to be subbed off after the third goal incident where he injured himself. Here are excerpts from the pre match press conference.
Do you think the heavy loss against ATK Mohun Bagan could lead to a remontada for your team?
“Remontada is when you are losing a match and you make a comeback. But in this case, Odisha FC is a different opponent. It’s a very very important test to play against Odisha because we want to gain all the three points”
Odisha FC are coming into the game on the back of a win against Bengaluru FC. Will it be difficult to get back to winning ways against such a strong team? Especially after such a heavy loss in the derby?
“We are focused on the Odisha game. We are not thinking about how they played their last game. We are just concentrating on the upcoming match for winning”
What’s the update on Arindam? Will we see Suvam Sen in the goal next match?
“Yes. Suvam Sen will starting the next game. Regarding Arindam’s injury, we are tracking the progress”
SC East Bengal have been lacking the creativity. So what’s the plan to fix that? Will we see an Indian Striker getting a chance?
“Our strikers didn’t have the opportunities because our team didn’t play well. In the first game, we had enough chances and we could have won the game”
“The Indian striker we have is only Shemboi Haokip as Balwant Singh is currently injured”
Adil Khan played well as a substitute in the derby. Would you hand him a start over Tomislav Mrcela against Odisha FC?
“Everything is possible. In this squad, everybody will get the opportunity. We and the players will be looking for the best for East Bengal”
How are you looking to rebuild for the Odisha FC game after the derby setback?
“We must make changes as the players, especially the starters, only had a couple of days to recover after the ATK Mohun Bagan game. We need to do the good which we did in the first match and avoid the mistakes which we committed in the second game”
How do you plan to lift the spirit of the players? What has been the team talk and how is the mood in the camp?
“New day, new match, new challenges. All the players and staffs are looking to improve our level of the game and the image of the club”
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