ISL 2022-23: We aim to take revenge – Josep Gombau ahead of Bengaluru FC clash

Odisha FC head coach Josep Gombau has urged his players to take revenge against Bengaluru FC in their fourth match of the season. Odisha FC has got off to a decent start in the ninth season of the Hero Indian Super League as they have won two out of the three matches they have played.

However, Bengaluru FC had beaten Odisha FC by 2-1 in the quarterfinal of the Durand Cup and Gombau feels it will be a perfect time to avenge their loss.

Sharing his views on the game, Gombau said in the press conference, “Yes, it’s an important game for us (as) we’re playing our second game at home in a row. We had very little time to prepare for the game, but I think that we are ready, the players have been showing hunger (to give their best) and it will be a very good game against Bengaluru FC. They are an incredibly good team and we come into this game with the aim of taking revenge because they beat us in the Durand Cup. With this mentality, we approach the game, try to win on Thursday, and leave the stadium with a good fervour.”

Meanwhile, Odisha FC won their previous match against last season’s League Shield Winners Jamshedpur FC by 3-2. Subsequently, they won against Kerala Blasters FC by 2-1. In both of these matches, Odisha registered a win after coming from behind. Gombau believes his players are mentally strong and that is why they were able to bounce back in these two games.

He said, “Yes, for sure, this team shows an extremely strong mentality. When you make a comeback in the games, it means that they show pride or hunger and that they have a strong mentality to go ahead and do it (win the games). It is easy to say, but very difficult to perform, and I’m always there to encourage them and give them hope in doing so. We all know the games are 90 minutes long and until the last minute, we need to work on and fight. It definitely will be better if we can start winning the game and keep the result. But for any reason if we concede a goal before we score, we have the capacity to work hard and bring back the game like we did in the last two games that we won.”

Gombau feels it will be a difficult game against Bengaluru FC as the opposition have fine players. The gaffer also admitted that both teams are well aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses and thus it should be a good contest.

Gombau said, “I think we know each other very well, but it’s also that we’ve seen all the teams in the league and how they play. For us, I want to use this game as extra motivation because we lost in the other 20 minutes being with 10 men (in the Durand Cup) and we need to take out this bad feeling that we got that day and bring back a nice, playful one. Almost everybody knows everyone in this league and what is true is that the games are fairly equal. Bengaluru FC have fine players and I think it will be a difficult game, but I think we can win because the boys are ready and all of us are excited to play them on Thursday. Knowing that we are facing a big team with big names in the league, I think it’s a good opportunity for the fans to see how good Odisha FC is. I hope on Friday, we have a lot of people in the stadium who want to enjoy a good football game. You come and support the local team and we’ll go and win the game.”