Panaji: Manolo Marquez remains uncomfortable with numbers and what it broadly conveys, so when a question cropped up about FC Goa’s two wins in a row and NorthEast United’s one point from last four games, the Spanish coach couldn’t help breaking into a smile.“You love statistics, isn’t it,” Manolo asked the reporter during the pre-match media interaction. “When the match kicks off at 5pm (on Friday), NorthEast and Goa will both have 11 players. It does not matter if they have done badly in the last few games. It’s not important if it’s a team that we have not defeated for a long time. For us to win, we need to play better than them.”NorthEast present a unique challenge to Goa when they face off at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Friday. Goa have won just once at the venue in 2015, while eight games have ended in draws.The last time Goa won against NorthEast was in 2022 at Fatorda, with Carlos Pena as coach. Since Manolo took over in 2023, the team has had no success against the Highlanders, whether it’s the Indian Super League (ISL), Durand Cup or Super Cup.Interestingly, their last meeting came in the Super Cup at Fatorda where NorthEast emerged victorious but at a time when Goa had already topped the group and qualified for the semifinals.“I don’t count this game because we had already qualified, played five games in 15 days and were to travel to Saudi Arabia the next day (for ACL 2 clash against Al Nassr). But it’s true that most of our games have ended in draws. We are teams with two completely different styles. Even though they play from the back, they are very effective in counterattack. It’s a team that deserve more points than what they have,” said Manolo.Until their two wins on the trot, Goa were languishing in the middle of the table, having won just two of their first seven matches. They were also winless in four, but up against Mumbai at home last week, Manolo’s side showed their true colours.Goa were impressive against Mumbai with Sahil Tavora and Muhammed Nemil among the goals in a dominant 2-0 win.“When you play against top teams, there’s no need for extra motivation,” said Manolo. “Against Mumbai, the team recovered a lot, much of what we had previously lost. The style, the press, hunger, even the positioning. Our win showed that we can defeat any team in the competition.Manolo would now look for a similar performance against NorthEast and hopefully end the four-year win drought.“We didn’t win against Mumbai for a long time and suddenly we have three wins in a row. One day we will defeat NorthEast, and I hope it’s tomorrow (Friday),” said the Goa coach.
