Maintaining momentum will be key, says Thapa

CHENNAI: Chennaiyin FC captain and midfielder Anirudh Thapa on Thursday said that maintaining “momentum” would be key if the ‘Marina Machans’ is to have a “very good” Indian Super League 2022-23 season.

Chennaiyin began its ISL Season 9 with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over ATK Mohun Bagan in Kolkata on Monday. “I think that we need to be consistent with our performances. In the first half of the opening game, we were slow and lost quite a few balls. In the second half, we came back pretty well. That is what we need to do for the full 90 minutes,” Thapa told reporters ahead of the Chennaiyin-Bengaluru FC match here, on Friday.

“If we keep the momentum going, we will have a very good season. We need to be mentally strong and do what we have been told to do. We just need to go with the plan,” added Thapa, who set the Durand Cup alight with brilliant performances.

Meanwhile, head coach Thomas Brdaric stressed that CFC must be on top of its game throughout the match to get the better of BFC. “Bengaluru is an experienced team. It has players who are fast, so we need to be careful at the back. We should not let them overpower us. We have to defend as a team and put BFC under pressure,” said Brdaric.

The German coach confirmed that wingers Vincy Barretto and Alexander Romario Jesuraj would continue to remain on the sidelines as they are yet to recover from their respective injuries. Both players are yet to make an appearance this season.

“We have a big squad. We should care about all players. Vincy and Romario are not ready to make it to the squad for the Bengaluru match. We have more than 20 players in the squad who will be ready,” Brdaric went on to add.