FC Goa return to action in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2018-19 on Tuesday after a long 12-day break when they face FC Pune City at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium in Pune. The Gaurs' last match was on November 28, a goalless draw with ATK, while Pune beat Kerala Blasters 1-0 in their previous fixture.

At the pre-match press conference, Pune’s interim coach Pradyum Reddy was present to address the media’s questions. After the impressive victory against Kerala, Reddy admitted that the team was brimming with confidence. “Definitely the players are more upbeat. Coming into this game, we want to end the year on a high. We have got one more game to go before the break. We want to build on the performance at Kochi. Last time we had a win, we stumbled at the next game. So, we want to make sure that we don’t repeat that,” he said.

The Scottish-born Indian coach implemented a change in tactics during the match against Kerala. The change worked favourably for Pune and when asked if he would execute a similar plan against Goa, Reddy said, “I think, given the travel we had and the size of the field, it was the right way to approach the game. More than just how we defended, we created a lot of chances. Ashqiue Kuruniyan had a lot of chances and if Marcelo Pereira had taken his chance, we could have probably put the game to bed early on. But we kept our first clean sheet, so it was definitely an upgrade.”

From Goa’s end, assistant coach Jesus Tato was present to share his thoughts on the upcoming match. Given his prior experience, playing for the Stallions, the Spaniard was asked whether his familiarity with the opposition would prove to be an advantage for Goa. “First of all, thank you, I am happy to be back here. Sure, there are many players in the league who are still there from that season (Hero ISL 2016). But I don’t think there is a clear sort of advantage in these situations.,” he opined.

With the international break just a week away, clubs will be hoping to take points to put themselves in a favourable position. However, Tato was adamant about their objective for the year remaining unchanged despite the lengthy break. “I don’t think I’m in a position to talk about this break. Because I don’t think it is an option. The national team has to play the AFC Asian Cup competition, so it is sort of obligatory for all the teams to take a break. But what I can talk about is that we have two games to go before the break. But we have an objective to pass, which is to stay within the top four,” Tato said.

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