Mumbai: Ahead of the all-important second leg between Mumbai City FC and Atletico de Kolkata, both Alexandre Guimaraes and Jose Molina insisted that their respective their sides will be positive and play their natural game.
Kolkata are veterans in the ISL playoffs, having made the last four in each of the three seasons, including their title win in 2014. A hard-fought 3-2 victory in the first leg has put them on track for a second appearance in the final, and even though Kolkata can qualify with a goalless draw, Molina said that his side "will try to win" and "play the same way we have done from the first day".
"If we have spaces, we will attack, of course. But our mentality is the same as that in the first leg. We are going to try to win the match, the way we did in Kolkata," he said.
"We played well, we tried to score goals and suffer as less as possible. We don't know how Mumbai will go to the match, with that one-goal disadvantage. We always will try to do the same. Be solid in defence, and have good intensity. Keep the ball and move it fast, and try to get into the opponent's box."
How "Mumbai will go to the match" is with a "different intensity, both physical and mental" from the one they showed in Kolkata on Saturday, according to Guimaraes. Mumbai contrived to throw away a 2-1 lead at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium and showed little invention in attack during the second half, something Guimaraes was keen to correct in the second leg.
"We know that we managed in the last game, we were able to equal our percentage of playing home and away. The fans have been very good for us, I hope tomorrow we have a full stadium, to push our players to their limits," Guimaraes said.
"To get what we want, we know that we have to play very smart. The situation is not that we have to be suicidal, because the difference is just one goal. We have to play better than we did last game. I firmly believe we are still alive. We have our chance and we will fight as hard as we can to get there."
One of the flash points from the first leg was the expulsion of Diego Forlan, who was sent off after picking up a second yellow card for kicking out at Kolkata midfielder Jewel Raja. Forlan played a part in both Mumbai goals with his incisive set-pieces, but Guimaraes was confident that his team could cope without their marquee player.
"First of all, these kinds of games, you don't have to motivate the players. Tomorrow is a final. If we want to play the last game, we have to win tomorrow. The one who is going to play in his spot, I have no doubt that he will do the best to help us get through. The games he didn't play - for instance, the one against ATK here - we performed well without him. He's already waiting that we can go through to the final.
"During this whole tournament, we have created a lot of chances. The ones that are going to play know that now it's just a matter of scoring one goal. Our first target is to score one goal. After that it is another game. I am pretty sure ATK also know that. If our players are in the right frame of mind, with correct focus, we'll be much more accurate in the last 20 metres of the pitch."
For Molina, Forlan's absence did come somewhat as a relief, though he was quick to acknowledge that Mumbai had several other attacking options who were just as big a threat.
"We haven't had time to work on that (our defending from set-pieces). We have just had time to recover. We know how to deal with it. The players will do well. Forlan will not be on the pitch, and he is their main threat from the free kicks. Maybe that will be good for us, or not.
"Everybody knows Forlan is top-class. If he's not on the pitch, it may be good for us, or maybe not. Mumbai have Leo Costa, Sony Norde, Chhetri, Defederico, Cafu. It's never easy playing against Mumbai, and never easy scoring against Mumbai. If there's something I have learnt this season, it is impossible to win clean. You have to fight to win. In our mind, the only target is to win the the final."