I-League: Aizawl look to end season on a high

KOLKATA: Aizawl FC will look to put their season's disappointment behind them when they take on debutants Sudeva Delhi in their last match of the I-League at Kalyani Municipal Stadium on Thursday.
The former champions had big hopes, but they failed to live up to it and in the end couldn't even qualify for the championship round. Yan Law, who took over as head coach after the first few matches, and the players did their best but inconsistency and failure in the attacking third proved way too costly for the young side.
They will now look to grab all the three points on offer on Thursday and make sure they finish on top among the clubs that were fighting in the relegation playoffs after the end of the first phase league.
While Aizawl will be gutted with their showing, Sudeva will be quite happy with the way they played in their debut season. They have won their last three matches and their assistant coach Pushpendar Kundu naturally sounded quite pleased.
"It has been a fantastic season, both for the team and me. I would like to thank the people for giving me and many young players from Delhi, northeast, Maharashtra and other parts of the country the opportunity to play such a high level of football," said Kundu.
Law, who couldn't join the team right after he signed because of the Covid protocols, meanwhile, pointed at the positives from the season which was challenging to say the least for everybody.
"We have been playing good football, but only six teams were going to qualify for the championship round. We have conceded the least number of goals, we have many goal scorers and a lot of Indian players - a lot of positives takeaways. I am really proud of this team," said Law.
In another match of the day, bottom-placed NEROCA FC will take on Chennai City FC. The team from Manipur has been relegated but they will still look to put that behind and give their best against the former champions to sign off on a winning note. NEROCA currently have eight points from 13 matches and a win will see them move into the 10th spot in the 11-team league, just above All India Football Federation (AIFF) developmental side Indian Arrows.
The last game of the day will see Real Kashmir face off against Mohammedan SC.