Goa marched into the semifinals with a 3-1 win in Chennai against league leaders Chennaiyin. The stunning win was Goa’s fourth on the trot, and third straight in which they scored three goals. Midfielder Amiri has been a key figure in Goa’s turnaround in form, keeping the ball moving and setting off attacks from the midfield. Amiri, who holds the distinction of being the only Afghan player in the Hero Indian Super League, was quick to credit the hard work put in by his teammates and the coaching staff for getting Goa’s season on track after their slow start to the league. He also stressed that though the team have secured qualification for the semifinals, they will not be thinking about playing in the final on December 20. Instead, as the 27-year-old told indiansuperleague.com in an exclusive post-match interview, they will be focussing solely on their next game, in Kolkata on December 10.What a result for you and your team! How do you feel about today’s result?We got a good result away from home! We won and we scored 3 goals. We conceded a silly goal at the end but we’re really happy with the result. And, we qualified for the semifinals!"I’m also proud that I’m the only Afghan player here."AmiriHow did you guys prepare to come here and beat the league leaders?I think this game came at a good time. We won three games at home, so our confidence is back. We wanted to play the same way. The coach told us that we needed to win this game and qualify, rather than waiting for the last game. That’s the mentality of the coach – he put out the same team and came out with the same mentality.Goa is in red-hot form! How did you guys turn it around after your poor start to the season?You know that at the start of the tournament, we didn’t have a good run of results. But in the end, the hard work of the coaches, the players, the training and practising has to pay off somewhere. These are the results that we’re getting. The way we turned on in the second half of the season is the way we want to continue.How has the ISL experience been for you? It’s a dream come true for any footballer to come and share the dressing room with such big names like Zico, André Santos and Robert Pirès! And I’m also proud that I’m the only Afghan player here.Are you confident about your team’s chances to go all the way to the final?We are not thinking about the final. We’re taking everything step by step and preparing for the next game. We’re not at all thinking about the final.
