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On the road once again, Mumbai City FC are set to take on Kerala Blasters in what will be the Islanders’ second away game of the 2022-23 ISL season. The Islanders shared points with Jamshedpur FC in a 1-1 draw over the weekend at the Mumbai Football Arena before traveling to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.
The game will kick-off at 7.30pm IST tomorrow, October 28.
The Islanders have had a solid start to the 2022/23 Indian Super League season and are unbeaten in three games after two draws and a win. Des Buckingham’s side have already scored six goals in three outings and currently sit fourth in the league table. Mumbai City put in an exceptional attacking display in their first game of the league season against reigning ISL Champions, Hyderabad FC in a match that ended 3-3. In their second game, the Islanders dominated Odisha FC in the second half to win 2-0. Their most recent fixture against Jamshedpur FC ended as a 1-1 draw despite the Islanders showing great attacking intent against the Red Miners, only for Jamshedpur FC’s robust approach to the game making it hard for the Islanders to come away with all three points.
Ivan Vukomanovic’s Kerala Blasters have started the 2022-23 ISL season on a tough note. An opening day win against East Bengal 3-1 at the Kaloor was followed by two forgettable performances. The Blasters went down 5-2 to ATK Mohun Bagan and 2-1 to Odisha FC and will come into tomorrow’s encounter hungry for a win, sitting ninth on the table.
Coach Des Buckingham and Vikram Partap Singh attended a press conference a day prior to the clash between Mumbai City FC and Kerala Blasters FC. The 37 year old Englishman spoke about their start to the season and their preparations for the game, “We know the qualities that Kerala Blasters have. We’re going to need to be on top of our game to stop that. But we also need to continue showing the football we can play as a team, which we have done not just in the last three games but throughout the Durand Cup also.”
He added, “We have played some good football until now and we’ve recruited very well this season. Now we are 12 months into my tenure here and players are a lot clearer on how we want to play and what we want to do in the match.”
When asked about his playing time, Vikram Partap Singh said, “I learned so much from last year and now I know what I have to do for the team this time around. This year, I know exactly what my role is in the team and my learnings from last year will definitely help me improve my game from the previous seasons, so I am ready to take to the pitch whenever the coach demands it.”
Coach Buckingham signed off by saying, “Hopefully, the consistency that we’ve already shown at the start is going to be so important going into not just tomorrow, but for the 16 games afterward.”
The game will kick off at 7:30pm IST and will be broadcast live on the Star Sports Network, Hotstar, and Jio TV for all viewers in India.
