Thursday , March 28 2024

ARA FC face Kenkre FC in a must-win game!

In a must-win game on Saturday, the ARA FC will face Kenkre FC in their third pool B encounter here at the ongoing I-League Qualifiers. While Kenre FC impressed in their opening match in Pool B with a strong 2-1 win against Kerala United in Pool B, ARA FC could muster a 1-1 draw against new comers Corbett FC in their opening tie and lost 0-3 against Delhi FC in their second. With only two more games left to play in the Pool stage for ARA FC, they will need to go all guns blazing in their match against Kenkre FC.

ARA FC head coach Vivek Nagul put things into perspective and said, “It will be a very important match for us. Definitely the next two matches are must-win games. If we get three points against Kenkre on Saturday then we are still in the race. It is a very crucial game.”

Although going by stats, ARA FC created many more chances than their opponents in both games, they couldn’t manage to convert those chances. Coach Nagul rued these missed opportunities and said there will be no scope for errors in the forthcoming matches if the team wants to see themselves play the knockout matches. “I wouldn’t say we played badly in the first two games. On paper, we had better stats than our opponents but we missed a lot of chances and I am quite concerned about our strikers not being able to score,” stated Nagul.

The coach, however, went on to back his players and expressed confidence that they still have the fire-power in them to bounce back in the tournament. “I have had a long conversation with the players and it’s all about motivating them now. We just need to find ways to finish properly.”

He further expressed his own experience as assistant coach with the Chennaiyan FC in the Indian Super league when they were placed at the bottom of the points table and had to win all five matches to eventually end up as the title holders. “I told my players that all is not lost yet. I shared with them my own experience with Chennaiyan FC during the ISL in 2015 where we were at the bottom of the pool table with just five matches remaining. We ended up winning all five matches and went on to win the ISL that year. Until and unless you don’t give up, it is possible. We can expect something good from the players tomorrow,” asserted Nagul.

Meanwhile, their foreign player Vladislav Nuriev stated that the team is focused on their match against Kenkre FC. He said, “We are all focused on the match tomorrow. We couldn’t convert the chances in the first game and lost the winning points there. We couldn’t do very well against Delhi FC but we will enter the match tomorrow with a strong playing XI and we are focused on doing well.”

Speaking of their chances in their second game in the Qualifiers, Kenkre FC head coach Akhil Kothari minced no words as he said, “Every team in the tournament is a tough opponent and we can’t take anyone lightly. Our approach and intent is to progress in the tournament and stick to our plans.”

Talking about their win against Kerala United in the first game, Kothari said, “It was good to win against Kerala United and the players are carrying the confidence from that win. But it is important for us to not get complacent and take one-match-at-a-time. We just feel every team has their strengths and weaknesses and for us, it’s about capitalising on the opponent’s weak point and deliver our best football.”

Kenkre FC’s star midfielder Alazhar Delhiwala highlighted that the team has been in good spirit and the mood in the dressing room is upbeat ahead of their game tomorrow. “The players are all upbeat about the next match and there is a good vibe in the stadium too. Though we are playing these matches in a bio bubble, there are a few people in the stadium who end up cheering for us and it feels good to be playing in this atmosphere,” said the midfielder.

Talking about the upcoming match against ARA FC, Alazhar said, “They have some good experienced players in their line-up and we are looking forward to a good contest. We need to be consistent in our approach and as coach said, we need to just stick to our plans and execute them properly.”

The Group B encounter between ARA FC and Kenkre FC will be streamed live on the I-League official Facebook page from 3.45pm IST.

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