Team Herald
VASCO: With host Churchill Brothers Sports Club and Mumbai Football Club aiming for three points, both teams will try to give their best performance in the Hero I-League match at Tilak Stadium, here, on Sunday. The kick-off is at 4.35 p.m.
Both coaches, Mumbai FC’s Santosh Kashyap and Churchill Brothers Alfredo Fernandes minced no words when they stated: “We will go for full three points. We will give a fitting display of attacking and attractive football and our players are raring to go. We will go the full distance no matter what. We are determined to give our best. We have no injury problems.”
Coach Kashyap made light of the fact that Churchill Brothers will have foreign recruit Anthony Wolfe.
“Churchill Brothers have a rich tradition. And they are the only Goan team in the league when three other clubs opting out. They have an excellent set up. We have no foreigners in our ranks and have no regrets as our squad is a formidable one, having proved that in the previous match against our rivals DSK Shivajians, who had three foreigners, and yet we came our triumphant. I strongly believe in my players. I am not worried that we have no foreigner as we are passionate about our style of play and we have had a great start. We have talented players with four Goans in our ranks — Kattimani, Vitorino, Pratesh and Shalom. And then Steven is raring to go. It is an excellent combination and I am sure my team will improve with every match,” claimed the Mumbai head coach, who was confident in securing three points.
“We never defended against DSK Shivajians. We played a free flowing game, it was our own style. We want to play our own way and that’s the beauty. I have lot of faith in Steven who is a guiding force, a great inspiration to the rest,” stated Kashyap.
“I want to prove my mettle as I am aiming for a national slot and then the ISL. I have to excel. It’s important for me to showcase my skills so that I earn a place for the India selection. We play a team game and it will be a team effort on Sunday. We will raise our performance as we are very optimistic and we respect our opponents who have also displayed a good game against Mohun Bagan,” pointed out Steven.
“It’s an important match for us. It is our first home match and as such we look forward for the same with great enthusiasm and hope, more so after our good showing against Mohun Bagan in Kolkata. We have a strategy in place and with striker Wolke back with us, we are very positive of scoring and gaining full points,” disclosed coach Alfredo.
“All players are fit, there being no injury headaches. We will continue exhibiting a good brand of football with lots being expected from Fulgencio, Richard, Clifford, Anthony. We are fully prepared and have worked on our past weakness and know that Mumbai are a strong combination with high morale after their first victory. We will play with determination and single- minded objective of securing the valuable points so as to open our account. After all numbers do matter,” stressed Alfredo.
“I am looking for tomorrow’s match solely with the intention of scoring or assisting in scoring. I have set the target of netting eight to ten goals in all till May-end. I am relying on Anthony, who is a great motivator, to a great extent, in finding the net. Of course, I am not selfish and as such we will rely on team effort and I am basically a team man and never selfish. I am not under pressure and I will play my own, cool game as it is very important for us to get three points,” remarked Wolfe at the pre-match conference.
Meanwhile, the organisers were busy giving the finishing touches to the arrangements with the All India Football Federation appointed officials carrying out various inspections. The turf, however, leaves much to be desired with the surface looking wavy and as such unimpressive, perhaps due to lack of adequate watering. Maintenance seems to be a casualty.
General coordinator Anthony Mum Fernandes stated that tickets priced at Rs 100 for both stands will go on sale from 11 a.m. at the stadium and that GFA card holders, registered club officials, players, referees, merit card holders will be given free entry.
“Besides the police, security in the stands will also be manned by local security staff, as it is important that the match is incident free from the spectators point of view and as such throwing of bottles on the ground will attract heavy fines and other disciplinary actions against the organisers,” disclosed Anthony.
