NorthEast United FC Cesar Farias believes all eight teams in the 2015 Hero Indian Super League are in the semi-final reckoning. The Highlanders are currently seventh in the table with 10 points from eight matches, and ahead of their game against Chennaiyin FC who too have 10 points from eight matches but enjoy a much better goal difference, Farias said the league was so competitive that every team had a chance to make it to the semis.“We have the same possibility in the league. The league table is very tight, everyone has same possibilities, even the bottom one. The league is very compact. We have a very tight schedule ahead. We are finishing our games on 2nd December and other teams have 4-5 more days after that,” the Venezuelan told reporters on Tuesday.Chennai are playing their second successive game at home on Wednesday, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The last time here they played table-toppers FC Goa and lost the encounter 2-0. Goa coach Zico fielded five defenders to curb the likes of Stiven Mendoza and Elano. When asked if he was planning to do something similar, Farias said: “Goa and Northeast are different teams. We will use our strength.”Farias spoke of Chennaiyin FC in glowing terms. “Chennai is a great team. You can see that by their results. Some players stand out because of their goals and assists. All the teams are even in the league,” he said.NorthEast United FC have conceded the most goals (13) this season as opposed to eight scored and consequently their goal difference is the worst among all teams. Farias admitted their goal difference was a matter of concern. “There have been ups and downs throughout the season. We know we don't have a good goal difference. In football the hardest thing is to build attack. We hope to keep going well,” Farias said. Meanwhile, Farias’ counterpart Marco Materazzi assessed his campaign and said Chennaiyin FC were just one win away from making it to the top 4 and that wasn’t a bad position to be in. “I can say that now we are just one win away from the top 4. If we will deserve to be in the semis, we will be there. If not, then it will be disappointing for the whole team.”The Italian was also confident that Elano and Mendoza had the wherewithal to deal with NorthEast’s defence headed by Cameroonian Andre Bikey. “We all know that Elano and Mendoza have that feeling, and play as they know they can play. Everyone has problems with them. We know that NorthEast is a very compact team and we will see what happen in practice,” he said.
