Pradyum Reddy feels Lady Luck is not on Pune's side, Cesar Ferrando praises opposition

The Stallions will be looking for their first win of the season against the Men of Steel on Wednesday.

It will be an exciting game at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, as for the first time this season, Pune City will have all their players fit and even marquee forward Iain Hume is in contention to play his first game for the club.

As for Jamshedpur, they will try to extend their 7-game unbeaten run this season and will definitely be a hard team to break down for the hosts.

Before the game, the coaches of both teams spoke to the media:

Coach’s Corner

Pradhyum Reddy (Pune City)

Reddy stated that once his side gets their first win, good things will follow

Pune City are having a very tough season as they are yet to win a single game this season. Moreover, the team has scored just six goals in their last seven games, while conceding thirteen goals in the process, three more than any other team in the league.

Interim coach Pradyum Reddy had his say on the situation. “We have scored five goals in the last four matches which is quite normal and should be enough to win a couple of games. There were also two penalties missed, which could have taken the tally to seven goals in four games. Our bigger concern rather than the number of goals scored is the goals which we conceded. It is the reason which cost us points and put us in a difficult situation.”

“On paper our team has been pretty same as last season, but unfortunately football is not won on paper, it’s won on the grass. Even Chennaiyin retained most of their players from last season, but they are in a similar position right now. That’s football when you don’t get one win and sometimes you don’t have luck; you don’t take your opportunities and the other team capitalizes on your mistakes,” he explained.

The former Bengaluru assistant went on to speak about how such things have a bad effect on the team and that it spreads negativity. “It creates a feeling that ‘when are we going to get our first win?’ It happened to Delhi Dynamos too. But, once we get past that, then probably we could pick up more wins and more points.”

Talking about tomorrow’s game Reddy said, “Well, we’ve kept everything positive in training and had a good past week. The boys had an off after the ATK game and then we came back and trained hard and they are ready to prove themselves tomorrow.”

With Emiliano Alfaro out on loan and Ashique Kuruniyan just returning from international duty, Reddy was asked whether that will have any effect on the team to which he answered, “Well, it’s quite normal when you return from international duty and Ashique has got some recovery time, so that’s not really a problem.”

“We’re looking forward to it [Hume’s return]. It is a welcome addition to both, the dressing room as well as in the outfield. He has been raring to go and so we’re looking forward to seeing him on the field,” he concluded.

ALSO READ:

• Can Sergio Lobera win the ISL title for FC Goa?

• Mid-season Report: Why is David James still struggling to find his best starting XI?

• Can ATK work their way back into playoffs contention?

Cesar Ferrando (Jamshedpur FC)

Ferrando lavished heaps of praise on Michael Soosairaj

Starting with his opinion on tomorrow’s game, Cesar Ferrando spoke about how Pune City are a good team with good players and that they will try hard to get their first win of the season. “Tomorrow’s match is a big tie for us. We managed to get a win previously, but in football these things happen and we always have to look ahead. At this moment we have to play against Pune tomorrow and we are ready for the match.”

When asked about his opinion on Michael Soosairaj’s great run of form this season the Spaniard went on to say, “He [Soosairaj] is a good player and he is now playing really good. But, in the moment he is having a bad time as a lot of journalists are asking about him and sometimes these things go into the players’ head. As a player you have to focus more on your game and although he is performing good on the pitch, he is having a bad moment outside.”

Furthermore, Ferrando was asked regarding Jamshedpur's brilliant form away from home and whether they look at this game as an advantage. “We prepare for all matches in the same way, whether it be an away or home game. But, the crowd plays a big role in pushing the teams to play harder. It also has an effect on the team’s confidence.”

Team News

Pune City

No injuries and suspensions as all 25 players are fit and available for selection.

Jamshedpur

Tim Cahill and Gaurav Mukhi will be the absentees but the rest of the squad is available.

Probable Lineups

Pune City

Kamaljit, Gurtej, Mills, Panwar, Golui, Stankovic, Adil, Carlos, Marcelinho, Ashique, Hume.

Jamshedpur

Pal, Tiri, Pratik, Gurung, Jairu, Arques, Memo, Soosairaj, Cidoncha, Morgado, Farukh.

Did You Know?

• Pune City are yet to win a game this season, while in contrast, Jamshedpur are yet to lose one.

• Jamshedpur are yet to win against the Stallions since last season.

• Iain Hume is in contention to play his first game this season, which will make him the first player to feature in all 5 editions of the ISL yet.

[KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]

Broadcast

The match will take place on Wednesday at 7:30PM at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sporting Complex in Pune. On television, the match will be live on Star Sports. Meanwhile, it will also be streamed on Hotstar and Jio TV.