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Confident Gokulam Kerala look to dent East Bengal's title hopes; Chennai hope to avoid relegation

I-League: After humbling Mohun Bagan, Gokulam Kerala look to stop East Bengal in Kozhikode. Chennai City FC have to beat Churchill Brothers if they want to avoid relegation.

By Aravind
A glimpse from the Gokulam Kerala FC training session (Image: AIFF Media)

Kozhikode, February 16: After humbling Mohun Bagan in Kolkata, debutants Gokulam Kerala FC are gearing up for another major humdinger in the I-League as they host East Bengal at the EMS Corporation Stadium in Kozhikode on Saturday (February 17) at 2 pm. Chennai City FC, hoping to avoid relegation, take on Churchill Brothers at 5.30 pm on the same day.

Coming back from a major win, that too in an away fixture, Gokulam Kerala coach Bino George said, "We have five matches left, we will try our best to do well."

It was the Kerala outfit's second win on the road while the first one came against Indian Arrows, the youngest side of the league.

Bino George lauded their newly recruited Bahrainian midfielder Alajmi for his impact in the team's recent fortunes.

"Alajmi was a replacement to Francis Ambane and he made the right impact on the team," he said.

Meanwhile, East Bengal got the better of league leaders Minerva Punjab FC in their last outing, which opened up the title race.

Bino George righty pointed that the Kolkata outfit will surely go all out to garner a win on Saturday. On the other hand, Gokulam Kerala will also need to focus on nothing less than three points.

"For East Bengal, winning this match is important for them, the same way it is more important for us also win this particular match," he said.

Khalid Jamil, on the other hand, sees this match as a 'very vital one' as their opponents are coming from a hard-earned win.

"This match is very vital one for us and they're playing very good football now. We have to be very cautious on the field and eventually, we need a win to stay alive in the title race," he said.

Bottom-placed Chennai City FC are faced with the task of upstaging their opponents Churchill Brothers to avoid relegation.

Indian Arrows and newcomers Gokulam Kerala are immune to relegation, which means Chennai City will have to win all their remaining three games, starting with Churchill, their nearest rivals placed seventh on the table. Only three points separate Chennai City's 13 and Churchill's 16, but the Goan outfit have a game in hand.

"Tomorrow there is a chance for us because their (Churchill Brothers) team is very tired. It is a golden opportunity for us to win. We don't want to lose the chance as they are already tired," said V Soundararajan, head coach of Chennai City.

The fixture involving Churchill is Chennai's sixth straight match at home, a run that has so far yielded four draws and a loss. The Southerners are running out of time and that makes winning against a team that has just three points more than them even more important.

"We want to win the match in front of our fans in Coimbatore. My players are giving their best. It is not like they aren't trying. They are doing their best but not getting the results. I told them to work hard and they have realised now," he said.

Churchill Brothers, after a decent start to the year, have succumbed to two away defeats in their last two games. Indian Arrows stuck late to register a comeback win and NEROCA scored an 86th-minute winner. Churchill will be looking to put an end to the trend of conceding late goals when they play Chennai City.


Gokulam Kerala FC vs East Bengal

I-League

Live from Kozhikode

At 2 pm (Saturday, February 16)

On Star Sports 2 and Hotstar


Chennai City FC vs Churchill Brothers

I-League

Live from Coimbatore

At 5.30 pm (Saturday, February 16)

On Star Sports 2 and Hotstar


Source: AIFF Media

Story first published: Friday, February 16, 2018, 23:37 [IST]
Other articles published on Feb 16, 2018