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TRAU FC will take on Mumbai outfit Kenkre FC on home turf in a second round I-league tie at the Khuman Lampak Stadium in Imphal on Monday, November 21.
This will be TRAU’s first game at their home ground this I-League season. Their head coach L Nandakumar said: “My boys are in good shape and are eagerly looking forward to playing their first home game. One major plus point for our team is that Komron Tursunov is back from his national duty (in Tajikistan) and has joined the team’s training,” he said.
Nandakumar explained the significance of TRAU’s upcoming fixture. “Tomorrow’s game is a very important one. We have to play in front of our home fans and we need to impress them. We are going to play attacking football,” he said.
The Red Pythons played against Kenkre twice last season where they won the first outing 3-0 and had to settle for a draw in the next. Nandakumar also praised the away side, “Kenkre are also a very good side, they are very innovative. We are expecting a tough match.” he commented.
The TRAU captain Gerard Williams said: “against Kenkre, we know it won’t be an easy game. They won their last game so they are confident. But this is our home game and we are sure that we can put up a good performance tomorrow and get three points,” the Nevisian defender said.
In their last game, TRAU drew against Aizawl FC as they surrendered the lead after conceding a goal in the second half that perhaps could have been avoided. However, Nandakumar believes that the result was a fair one. “It was very unlucky for our team that we couldn’t give our best performance there. The boys faced difficulties adjusting to the pitch and got a little tired in the second half but now they have improved,” he said.
Williams agreed with the coach, “We were indeed disappointed that we didn’t get three points, but getting one point from the away match wasn’t bad either. We are somewhat satisfied,” he said.
Mumbai Kenkre FC started their campaign this season with an away victory against Sudeva Delhi. Head coach Akhil Kothari reflected on his team’s performance saying “The game was competitive, our second-half performance was good and we created many chances. We are looking forward to continuing the same against TRAU.”
The defender Banpynkhrawnam Nongkhlaw, who played an important role in his team’s victory against Sudeva Delhi, said: “The win against Sudeva was important. A victory in the opener is always good for the dressing room. We have been preparing for the next game and hopefully, we will go home with another three points.”
Kothari, who faced TRAU twice last season as the coach of the Mumbai side, is looking forward to guiding Kenkre to their first win against them. “It’s an important game for us, the first match was a good win and we want to maintain a level of consistency. It will be a competitive game and we are looking forward to the new challenge tomorrow.” he said.
The match is scheduled to start at 7pm and will be broadcast live on Eurosport and DD Sports, and streamed live on the Discovery+ OTT platform.
