Guwahati: Hosts NorthEast United will battle for revenge when they take on the high-flying Chennaiyin FC at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium here on Friday.
The ‘Marina Machans’ not only inflicted their first defeat at the season but with a 3-0 win over the ‘Highlanders’ also brought an end to the winless streak intact since 2014 at there ‘Marina Arena’. NorthEast has since then lost five of the seven matches they have playeed, with two wins coming against Delhi Dynamos and FC Goa.
But despite that all is not lost for them feels assistant coach Eelco Schattorie, who also believes that a win or two from here can get them back to the hunt for a maiden Play-offs berth. “The overall atmosphere is fine. Players have the intention to do their job. They are motivated to do something together,” said the Dutch.
Their crumbling season looked to have hit a new high with the arrival of former Chelsea manger Avram Grant and the plyers responded with a 2-1 win over FC Goa but suffered a narrow 0-1 defeat against ATK in the very next match. Schattorie however feels that the players do not need any additional motivation against Chennaiyin.
“We play the number one team and normally as a coach you don’t have to motivate anyone if you play the number one in the league,” added the former East Bengal gaffer.
Chennaiyin on the other have remained unbeaten in the last five encounters and with six wins, two draws and two defeats in a total of 10 matches are second to only Bengaluru FC, who have 21 points with an additional match.
Assistant coach Syed Sabir Pasha however is not ready to take the ‘Highlanders’ lightly. “Every match is important” he said especially after that 2-2 draw against the Dynamos.
“We cannot take any team lightly. Every team is good and have important players,” he concluded.