FC Pune City will be looking to bounce back after their loss against Chennaiyin FC when they host table-toppers Delhi Dynamos FC at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium in Balewadi on Friday. The Stallions head into the contest with 12 points from their 10 games and need a win on Friday to strengthen their semis hopes.Speaking to the media at the pre-match press conference, Pune City head coach Antonio Habas seemed confident of his side’s chances against the Lions. “Tomorrow, winning the match is important. You know this league is very tough. Six-seven teams are in the same position as us. Tomorrow it is very important [to win] and we are ready to get the three points,” Habas said.The Delhi clash will be Pune’s last home game of the league stage, after which they will hit the road for their remaining three matches. When asked for his thoughts on that, Habas said: “All the teams are playing to get to the top 4, so for us to play away is not very fair but that’s ok. We have won more matches away, so let’s see [what happens]. But we have quite a bit of travel to deal with.”The Spaniard also made it clear that while Delhi are deservedly at the summit of the table, Pune will be looking to put a spanner in the works with regard to the Dynamos’ quest for the semis. “Delhi have been the best team in the league so far. They have been the most consistent team and they play well. They deserve to be top of the table. For the moment, Delhi are very close to qualifying for the semi-final spot. But tomorrow we are looking to get the three points and start our journey to the top 4. We want to be in the top 4 as soon as possible,” he said.With just eight goals in 10 games, Pune’s failure to hit the back of the net frequently has come under scrutiny. Commenting on his side’s lack of cutting edge in front of goal, the 59-year-old said: “We are working very hard to try and do well in every department. But at the moment it’s difficult. All teams right now are having a similar problem. But in absolute honesty, right now our players aren’t scoring enough goals. I would like for my team to score three, four, five everyday but we don’t have those kind of players. The coach never says don’t score goals, the coach always says please try and score goals.”Habas also expressed his gratitude to Pune’s supporters and hoped Friday’s encounter wouldn’t be their last game at Balewadi this season. “We want to see you later in the semi-finals. Tomorrow, we want to play a good match. We want to say thank you to the fans and we hope tomorrow we have a good game,” the Spaniard said.
