Indian Arrows look to return to winning ways

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New Delhi, December 21: Eighth-placed Indian Arrows look to get back to winning ways and finish the festive season on a high when the young colts face ninth-placed Gokulam Kerala FC at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi on Friday (December 22).

Losing two back-to-back matches against table toppers Minerva Punjab FC by a slight margin tarnished the high flying start of the Arrows, but head coach Luis Norton de Matos feels that his team will go all out for a win.

Speaking at the official pre-match press conference, Matos said, "We are certainly looking for a win against Gokulam Kerala FC. The Hero I-League is very exciting for us. In the Hero I-League, the most important thing for us is to show our boys can play with senior players. With no foreigners and mostly 16-17-year-olds, even if we finish 5th or 6th It's a huge positive."

Sitting beside Matos, skipper Amarjit Singh stated that, "We are combining well, we have players from both the U-17 and U-19 teams and our styles and strategy were different. In the first three matches, we were trying to adapt to each other. Hopefully, we will play better as we go along.

"Minerva were quite consistent and they were quite physical, they were well organised and that's why they (Minerva Punjab FC) are the league leaders. We lost to the brilliance of Chencho but collectively our team held our own", Matos replied when asked about the back-to-back losses against Minerva Punjab FC.

With Hero I-League action returning back to the Capital, fans will get a chance to witness their Indian U-17 World Cup Squad heroes in the Indian Arrows. "It feels good to be back in Delhi and I hope the fans come to support us", Matos said.

Although the tide has been against Gokulam Kerala FC - losing two of their three matches and drawing one - head coach Bino George and his team will look to turn momentum in the capital.

"Most of our players are inexperienced. Our aim is to finish inside the top four. Let's see what happens. Indian Arrows is quite a young team. I've seen their matches and they are quite fast. Although they are a bunch of teenagers we have to be cautious as they (Indian Arrows) are a very good team and I told my boys to not take them lightly", George said ahead of the match.

"The folks back home know us and come in quite a few numbers. The supporters and fans are quite welcoming and warm. It feels good to be recognised.", said Bilal Khan of Gokulam Kerala FC.

Match starts at 2:00pm IST

Live on Star Sports 2, HD 2

Streamed live on Hotstar, Jio TV