Defending champion Chennaiyin FC will have to pull up its socks, after losing its first two games, against an unbeaten NorthEast United FC on Thursday.
The home side has been struggling due to lack of midfield enforcers. Last season, Dhanpal Ganesh did exceptionally well in defensive midfield, intercepting rival’s passes and initiating attacks.
CFC has not been clinical in front of goal and also made some uncharacteristic mistakes in defence against FC Goa, something that was not seen last year.
Coach John Gregory conceded that the team quickly needs to find a win to get the season started but reiterated that there won’t be any knee-jerk reactions.
“We are not desperate. We are only three points behind where we were at this stage last season. We just need to relax and keep calm. We had many obstacles last season but we ignored them and got on with it.”
The Englishman also defended his main striker Jeje Lalpekhlua, who has looked out of sorts without any shots on target so far. “He is due one now. He had a rough patch towards the end of last season and then scored two goals in the playoffs. He has that capability. He just needs to stay relaxed and be focused. Once he gets the first goal, everything else follows.”
In contrast, NorthEast United FC has had a decent start, FC Goa at home before beating ATK in Kolkata.
But coach Eelco Schattorie remained grounded ahead of the match. “We can compete with any ISL team. Chennai has more individual quality than us. They have a few weaknesses and hopefully, we can exploit that.”
