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FC Goa seek improvement against Al Wahda
Coach Juan Ferrando says home team needs more possession in attack in Saturday’s Asian Champions League game.
After earning a gritty point against Qatar’s Al-Rayyan SC in their AFC Champions League debut on Wednesday, FC Goa will look to build on the promising start against UAE’s Al Wahda FC in a Group E game at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao on Saturday.
Juan Ferrando-coached FC Goa had held Laurent Blanc’s Al-Rayyan 0-0 in what was the first ever match for an Indian team in the group stages of Asia’s most prestigious tournament.
“In the last game, the score was good because we played against a very good team. But we want to improve more; our target is to continue in the same way,” Ferrando said in the pre-match press conference on Friday.
“The team controlled the possession in defence, which I am happy about. But we need to improve our possession in attack,” he added.
Al Wahda go into the game as favourites for the three points. After losing their opening game by a solitary goal to Iranian giants Persepolis, the Emirati club will be desperate for a win. They boast of a strong squad that includes Slovenian forward Tim Matavz, UAE midfielder Khalil Ibrahim, who recently scored against India in a 6-0 friendly win for his side, veteran forward Ismaeil Matar, South Korean midfielder Lee Myung-Joo, among others.
This is the 12th time that the Abu Dhabi-based club has qualified for the AFC Champions League, with their best run being a quarter-final appearance in the 2004 season. Last term, Al-Wahda were unable to field a team in the group stages after a novel coronavirus outbreak in the squad prevented them for travelling. They had reached the Round of 16 in 2019.
Coached by former Ajax manager Henk ten Cate, who also had stints as assistant manager of Barcelona and Chelsea, Al-Wahda will be full of confidence after an encouraging performance against the superior Persepolis side. “I’m very proud of my team. How we played and the way we fought but unfortunately, we did not win and they (Persepolis) scored one goal,” Ten Cate had said on Wednesday.
With Al-Wahda currently eighth in their domestic league and almost certainly set to miss qualification to next season’s Champions League with three games left to play, they will be desperate to keep alive their hopes of making it to the knockout stages in Asia.
For Ferrando’s Goa, it will be another litmus test against a stronger opponent. “I know their coach, I know the attacking style of Al Wahda; and it’s very important to change some details. Against Al-Rayyan, we prepared a plan and tomorrow we need a new plan,” he said.
“It’s necessary to control not only the one-against-one situations but also areas where they can be two-against-one because of their quality; they understand (the) free spaces to attack. It’s very important that our squad understands these points,” said Ferrando.
The Spaniard stressed again the need for his side to improve ball possession and retention. “The second point for me is that we need to keep the ball. If we keep the ball, it’s very difficult for Al-Wahda to play in attack.”
The core of the side is expected to remain unchanged, with Ivan Gonzalez and James Donachie in central defence, Edu Bedia, Glan Martins as deep-lying midfielders with Brandon Fernandes, Alexander Romario and Jorge Ortiz ahead of them and Ishan Pandita leading the attack.
