I-League: Desperate Aizawl FC host Indian Arrows

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Aizawl, February 22: Aizawl FC will host All India Football Federation's development squad Indian Arrows at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on Friday (January 23). The match will be Aizawl's newly appointed coach Santosh Kashyap's first home match in this Hero I-League season.

The veteran coach who has taken over the reins after Aizawl parted ways with Paulo Menezes, is yet to garner a win with the Reds. Santosh Kashyap's first match was a high-scoring stalemate in Goa and it was followed by a 2-1 loss to Shillong Lajong in the capital city of Meghalaya.

Arrows, who are lying at the bottom of the table after 16 games will need nothing but three points, should they want to climb up the ladder. On the other hand, Aizawl are winless in the last eight games and could only garner five points from their last eight games.

Luis Norton de Matos-coached Arrows are a bit ahead in terms of recently-played games as they have amassed five points from their last four outings.

Speaking on the eve of the match, Arrows' head coach Luis Norton said, "I'm really glad to be here in Aizawl and I am very proud of the boys. We cannot forget that this is not a senior team and we want to learn and progress in football. After 16 games the expectation was less than what we achieved and 15 points are good. Every team in the league depends on a lot on foreigners and we have no foreigners."

"Our main aim is not the points but the development of the boys. We have to think about the development of all the boys. After two to three years, these boys will develop to another level", Matos said, stressing more on the development than the points accumulated this season.

Edmund Lalrindika, who scored his first goal of the season against Aizawl in their last match said, "I'm excited to be playing in Aizawl. In our last three games, we won one and drew two. We will play to get three points tomorrow."

Meanwhile, the former India U-19 skipper pointed out that the crowd support behind Aizawl FC might give the hosts an edge over them. "If we can play our game, I know we can win but it won't be an easy game as Aizawl FC always have a huge crowd."

Aizawl will need more than a miracle to retain their title and head coach Santosh Kashyap spoke cautiously before the match. The veteran Indian coach opined, "We need to think one game at a time. We are in the relegation battle but we will play for three points tomorrow. All the players are good enough to be good in the squad but we lost few player due to injury and sickness."

"I tried my best in the last game like I always do. We need to win so we will give everything. Every coach has his own plan and philosophy and I think we are on the right path to achieve the target", Aizawl forward Leonce Dodoz chipped in.

Match starts at 02:00pm IST

Live on Star Sports 2/2 HD

Streamed live on Hotstar and Jio TV

Source: AIFF Media