Chennaiyin FC face FC Goa in the first leg of the second semi-final of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa on Saturday. The former champions have had a consistent season which saw them finish in the second position after the conclusion of the league-phase. An integral part of their midfield this season has been Rene Mihelic, who has two goals and four assists to his name so far. The Slovenian spoke to indiansuperleague.com on the eve of the crucial encounter and shared his thoughts. Here are the excerpts. 

Your thoughts on the season so far?

This is my first year in India. The first season for me. I think the journey this season has been very good. Everything for me and the team has been very good because we reached the semi-finals. That was our goal and now, we are here. We have these two games and we hope that we reach the final and win the cup. 

How was the previous meeting against FC Goa?

That game was very difficult. We were especially very good in the first half. In the second half, I think, Goa were a bit better. They had many chances to score but we scored the goal to make it 1-0 and I think, we deserved the three points. Saturday will also be a difficult game. Goa have very good players. That game was very difficult but we won it 1-0. 

Your thoughts on Goa’s attack vs Chennaiyin’s defence?

I think it will be a key battle because Goa have very good attacking players. We are a very strong team, all together. We play well in defence and in attack. As I said before, this will be a very difficult, very tough game and I hope we will do everything good on the pitch and reach the final. 

Does having many goal scorers make Chennaiyin unpredictable?

Yes, I think we have a lot of good players. We have 25 players who can play all the time and yes, we have scored the goals. This is very good for us because when somebody gets the chance, he comes down to the pitch and does everything to score or assist. This is very good for our team. We have not worked specifically but this is our mentality and we are a good team. Our 25 players can play anytime. 

How is the team morale right now?

Morale, I think, is very high because we reached this semi-final and we know what to do. We need to win this game and go to the final and bring back the cup to Chennai. 

What you make of FC Goa’s fans?

I think we are all professionals and we need to think only about what we are going to do on the pitch, as it is important for many people in the stadium. Of course, Goa have good fans, but when they come to Chennai, then we’ll see how our fans are. 

Any message for the travelling fans?

I hope our supporters will come to Goa and support us. We’ll celebrate together, but we’ll celebrate in Chennai also.