 "NEUFC look to avoid slip-ups against ATKMB to stay in ISL play-off race")
Time running out fast for them, NorthEast United FC (NEUFC) can't afford any more slip-ups if they have to stay in contention for the Play-offs berth as they gear up to clash with second-placed ATK Mohun Bagan in a Hero Indian Super League match, here on Tuesday.
With teams entering the business end of the tournament, fifth-placed season NEUFC, fortunately, line up against a team that has been stingy at the back all season.
Adding to that, NEUFC found an unexpected source of goals against Jamshedpur FC on Sunday, as the winner was scored by Deshorn Brown, who arrived from Bengaluru FC recently.
The Jamaican, who had failed to impress at BFC, seems to have hit the ground running at his new club.
The departure of Gerard Nus seemed to have worked wonders for NEUFC as they snapping a winless run against Jamshedpur, which propelled them all the way to fifth on the table.
But now a challenging task awaits them as they face a much-tougher test in the form of ATK Mohun Bagan at the Fatorda Stadium.
Also Read
"It's a different style to what Bengaluru play," NEUFC's Brown explained, ahead of the clash with ATKMB.
"I think we will get more scoring opportunities here. I like the style and it will do better for me in the long run as well. The difference is that these guys, they tried to penetrate down the middle as compared to Bengaluru.
"At Bengaluru, they try to go out wide and play crosses, but the delivery of the crosses is not great which makes it really difficult for the strikers to score."
Brown's promising debut along with a potential return to form for Federico Gallego -- who assisted both goals against Jamshedpur -- augurs well for NEUFC.
"We'll stick to the plan," said Brown.
"They are a good team but any team can beat any team. We just have to get going from the beginning and things will happen."
For ATKMB, it's all about keeping pace with table-toppers Mumbai City FC in the hope that they will slip up.
Antonio Lopez Habas' men left it late to win their previous encounter game against Chennaiyin FC and the Spanish coach understands that NEUFC will present a tough challenge as well.
"I think the team played well for 90 minutes against Chennnaiyin," he said.
"The players understood that we needed to win the game. We changed the system of how we play and under this new system, it was possible to score more goals.
"We have to give respect to our opponents and we have to be at our best to win the match. They (NEUFC) are a difficult opponent. They have good players and they will make it difficult for us," he added.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)