GUWAHATI, Oct 24 - After dismal shows in the last four editions, NorthEast United FC have been able to make a courageous start in the fifth season of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL).
Having collected seven points from three outings so far, the Highlanders will definitely hope to garner full points in their fourth match against Jamshedpur FC at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium here tomorrow.
Placed at number two, one slot ahead of Jamshedpur (five points), the local team will try to continue their resurgence under head coach Eelco Schattorie.
In the previous outings, the host team held FC Goa 2-2 in their opening match at home here before registering impressive solitary goal wins over 10-man ATK in Kolkata. Their best display was at Chennai where they made a sensational comeback to defeat defending champions Chennaiyin FC 4-3.
For the visitors, Nigerian forward Bartholomew Ogbeche will be the biggest threat as he has been the prolific striker for the Highlanders with four goals in his kitty including a scintillating hat-trick against Chennaiyin. Uruguayan striker Federico Gallego is another man to be noticed who is showing consistency at the NEUFC upfront.
�I have an able mid-fielder in Rowllin Borges,� said the NEUFC coach. �I always like to be organised and stay compact and it has worked pretty well till now. But all those goals we conceded are from individual mistakes and we have to work on that,� he added.
NorthEast United will miss the services of Keegan Pereira, Simranjit Singh and Kivi Zhimomi due to injury concerns. But the Highlanders will be up for the battle against the Men of Steel with the victors set to go top of the table.
For Jamshedpur FC, Mario Arques and Sergio Cidoncha are the bright spots for the team and the NEUFC players will have to keep a close eye on these Spaniards. Indian wingers Michael Soosairaj and Jerry Mawihmingthanga are also making their presence felt of late.
�The Indian players in my team are showing tremendous courage from the first day. They are improving day by day. Jerry and Michael Soosairaj are good players, they are working but they have to improve,� said coach Ferrando.
Ferrando is likely to try marquee signing Tim Cahill on Thursday who is yet to get down to business.
Jamshedpur got off to a flying start this season hammering Mumbai City FC 2-0 in the away match and playing draws to start the season on a steady note. They registered a 2-0 away victory against Bengaluru FC and ATK.
Match starts at 7:30 pm.
