"We have to focus on our defending until the 90th minute" - Hyderabad FC's Nim Dorjee Tamang ahead of NorthEast United clash
Hyderabad FC travel to Guwahati to take on NorthEast United at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in the Indian Super League on Sunday.
The Nawabs, who come into this game on the back of a 0-2 loss at the hands of Mohun Bagan at a supposed 'home' game at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, will want to redeem themselves by getting the first win of the season.
The Highlanders, on the other hand, were thrashed 0-5 in their previous game by a side from the other half of Calcutta - East Bengal - and will want to show their vocal supporters that their season has not been derailed.
Hyderabad centre-back Nim Dorjee Tamang, who attended the pre-match press conference, was barraged with a lot of questions on the Yellow and Blacks' inability to keep a clean sheet this season, but with his trademark poise, he answered them well.
“Me and Sana (Chinglensana Singh) have been playing together for a very long time, since our days in Shillong Lajong FC, and even then we used to keep a lot of clean sheets," said Tamang.
"This season we haven’t been able to keep clean sheets and we have to focus on our defending from the start of the match up until the 90th minute. We have to stay focused and only then we might be able to get a clean sheet,” he stated.
“We will try our best to keep a clean sheet in this match and if our forwards manage to score then we can win this,” he added.
Hyderabad FC will be looking to get their first win of the campaign
While NorthEast United have been in a bit of a trough after starting their season well, Hyderabad have been unable to get their first win of the season so far.
The Nawabs, barring their inaugural season in 2019-20, have finished in the top half of the ISL table in all campaigns since.
Therefore, it seems a little tragic to see them languishing right at the bottom of the standings at the moment with a mere three points in their kitty.
They will look to get their first win of the season and no place would be better to do that than Guwahati against a beleaguered NorthEast side, who are seventh with nine points to their name at the moment.