AGENCIES, Imphal: Northeast rivals NEROCA FC and Aizawl FC will be facing off at the Khuman Lampak Stadium on Friday as round two of the 13th Hero I-League gets underway.
The match is scheduled to kick-off at 2 p.m. IST and will be broadcast LIVE on DSPORT.
Aizawl FC faced Mohun Bagan at home in the opening day of the season and earned a point through a spirited display against the Kolkata outfit, as they held them to a goalless draw at home.
NEROCA FC, on the other hand, travelled to Kozhikode on opening day but were beaten 1-2 by an impressive performance by Gokulam Kerala.
Both sides clash in a bid to register their first win of the season.
Aizawl FC were in action in the Mizoram Premier League on 3rd December, and as a result, will have a few tired legs in their squad.
Reflecting on their performance on the opening fixture, Stanley Rozario, Head Coach, Aizawl FC said, “I am pleased with the performance of my players against Mohun Bagan and I wanted to get something out of the match, and we earned one important point.”
Weighing in on the tight schedule and their opponent, he added, “It’s a very tight schedule and I don’t want my players to get any injuries. NEROCA are a good team and have a full squad with foreigners and will come strongly against us. It’s also their first home match and they will get the home support as well. My players are confident, motivated and ready to take on them. I want my players to continue with the same team spirit and approach the match with a positive mindset.”
Gift Raikhan, Head Coach, NEROCA FC voiced his verdict on their opening day defeat against Gokulam Kerala FC. Looking back on the challenges his squad faced, he said, “It was a very difficult journey for us. It was the first match of the season. We travelled 3500 kilometres away from home. We trained on 29th and played the next day. But that’s the beauty of football and you have to endure those challenges in a long league.”
Even in defeat, he remained positive and asserted, “We fought and we showed that we were strong mentally, physically and technically. We feel sad about the result but we are back at home. The match is very important. We need three points against Aizawl but first of all, we need to relax, recover and then plan. Everything will be alright.”
In a proverbial David versus Goliath match-up at the Tilak Maidan in Goa, All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) developmental side Indian Arrows will go up against mighty Gokulam Kerala in game 7 of the 13th Hero I-League season.
The game is the second one on Friday and is scheduled for a 5 p.m. kick-off to be broadcast LIVE on DSPORT.
The side from Kerala is much improved from the one which was stunned by the Arrows, albeit a different outfit, exactly a year ago in the 12th Hero I-League league’s edition. The combination of Trinidadian Marcus Joseph and Ugandan Henry Kisseka is gelling well for them through the start of the season and as was evidenced in their opening game win against Manipur’s Neroca FC at home.
Coach Fernando Valera sounded cautiously optimistic ahead of the game saying, “Our triumph at home gives us confidence but we must be respectful to the rivals and we know that Indian Arrows is a very intense team.”
On plans for the game, he added, “we need to maintain concentration, be dynamic and try to control the game.”
The Indian Arrows, on the other hand, have a new coach in Shanmugam Venkatesh and plucky youngsters like Ashish Mishra, Ajin Tom and Vikram Partap Singh and it remains to be seen whether they have settled down as a unit early in the season.
They are no longer all of the U-17 variety with players now having had international U-19 experience as well.
Coach Venkatesh, however, was guarded in his assessment ahead of the Arrows’ opener saying, “We are a new team and are here to produce the future of Indian football. I would like to thank the AIFF for the opportunity. It’s a big challenge and I am very excited and confident and looking forward to working with this set of boys.”
“They are not at the same age level as the senior professionals and physically, it will be a difficult match for them. However, we have our own strengths. Stamina and technical ability-wise we are good and we will keep working on them.”
