Csaba Laszlo: Goalscoring is our biggest problem & we must resolve it

The Romanian mentioned his concerns surrounding the team’s lack of output in the final third. 

After a solid start to the season, Chennaiyin FC coach Csaba Laszlo faces a crisis of confidence in his side, as the Marina Machans have since struggled to get results, despite showing glimpses of quality. As games come thick and fast, the Romanian has had to contend with injury issues to key players in the squad as well as a lack of efficient finishing in front of goal. 

The coach faces another stern test against FC Goa, who have always scored plenty against Chennaiyin. While Isma is still injured, the tactician would be happy to welcome back Enes Sipovic, who he said has returned to training with the first-team and could feature in the game against Goa. 

The main reason behind the Gaurs’ continued ascendancy has been the form of Igor Angulo, who has single-handedly kept them afloat with six out of his side’s seven goals this season coming from the boot of the Spaniard. 

Csaba Laszlo would look to midfielder Deepak Tangri to keep the man from Bilbao at arm’s length. The player also reiterated his coach’s desire to remain compact as a team, remain focused and restrain the attacking instincts of Goa’s frontmen. 

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Tactics against Goa

Speaking about his tactics for Goa, Laszlo replied, “Every team has its own style, but we want to have our own style of play. It is important that we remain organized as a team. I think we have a negative (goal difference) at the moment, so we have to be organized not just in attack but also in defence.

“I see that in the last few games we have development (as a team), but we need results. So, we need to go out there and get results. We saw in the game against Jamshedpur, we played with a lot of emotion and we won. Since then results haven’t gone well. But, I don’t want to talk about things I can’t change. I want my team to affect the game and that is what I ask of my players everyday,” Laszlo added. 

Lack of goals

Chennaiyin FC have scored the third least number of goals this season, despite bringing in a whole host of experienced attackers in the summer. The lack of prolificacy was something that Laszlo personally admitted to being worried about ahead of Saturday’s fixture. 

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Csaba Laszlo replied, “It has a bit to do with confidence. It has been a long while, then to come play and score is difficult. I want the players to understand that they must remain focused to take chances. 

“I know it is our biggest problem and we must try to resolve this soon. It is easy to say words, but I want them to show it in training as well to score. Once the goals start coming in, I’m sure we will get back to where we want to be very soon.”

Deepak Tangri on playing with the experienced players

He was also joined by Tangri, who has proven to be a diamond in the rough, putting in glittering performances in defensive midfield. The youngster spoke with great zest about training with experienced players like (Anirudh) Thapa, Memo, and Germanpreet Singh, saying, “It’s a great feeling to play with players like Thapa, who play for the national team and they help me to improve every session by telling me areas to get better at.”

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Approach towards games

A particular reason for Chennaiyin’s lack of chances could be the fact that they have been second-best in terms of possession and build-up play. They have also been at times indecisive with their opportunities. 

The reasons were attributed to the adaptation of the team to different situations in the game by Laszlo, as he replied, “It is not something that you can say by watching on TV, ‘I want to play like this.’ Every team has its strengths around which it plays and our strength is that we have fast players, who are good with the ball. Not every team can play tiki-taka football. Every team has its own identity. The coach’s job is to identify the strengths and styles of the players and adapt the system around the strengths of the players.”

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