FC Goa’s Zohib Amiri was seen in a new role of left-back in the semi-final first leg against Atlético de Kolkata that ended in a goalless stalemate. The versatile Afghanistan national captain was forced to shift to the full back position from his usual role in the defensive midfield after Narayan Das picked up an early injury and was substituted by Peter Carvalho who then took over the central midfield position.Amiri was happy with the result even though Goa dominated the match against the depleted hosts and spurned several chances to take the lead in the encounter played at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Sunday night. “It was a difficult game, it was away from home and the boys tried really hard. But as you can see, the pitch is not very good. It’s a good result for us, so we’re looking forward to playing at home,” Amiri told indiansuperleague.com after the match.The 27-year-old Amiri, who has been playing on the Indian domestic circuit for the last three years, did not think that their failure to beat a depleted Kolkata side who are plagued by injury problems,was a setback for their morale. “No, it’s not about the morale, every team has a good squad and they’re a very good team,” he said in reply to a question on the subject. “It’s because of this pitch that everyone is getting injured and no one is able to give their 100 per cent. So we’re just looking forward to the next game.”Amiri refused to rate his own performance, requesting that the question be directed to his coach, Zico. “It’s difficult to say, you should ask my coach. It’s been a long time since I’ve played at left back,” he quipped.One of the most capped players in Afghanistan, the Kabul-born player revealed that his team always go all out in their matches and try to play their natural game. “We didn’t want to settle for a draw, we wanted to go for the win, but as you can see, the pitch is very bad,” he said.Amiri is now looking forward to the return leg in Goa on December 17 where the home crowd and the natural turf will give his side just the platform they need to put their best foot forward and gatecrash into the title round.
