It’s a must win game for
Aizawl FC
as they face Chennai City FC in their last game of the first phase of the
I-League
at the Kalyani Municipal stadium on Sunday.
The former champions, who went down to Real Kashmir in their last game, are currently placed seventh with 12 points and they will need to bag all three points on offer and hope that either Tiddim Road Athletic Union (TRAU) FC or
Mohammedan Sporting
drop points in their respective matches earlier in the day to grab one of the two top-six spots that are up for grabs.
TRAU and Mohammedan Sporting are both on 13 points and if they win their respective matches against Sudeva Delhi and Real Kashmir, both of them will grab the two spots in the top six irrespective of how Aizawl fare in their game.
So far, four teams –
Churchill Brothers
,
Gokulam Kerala
, Real Kashmir and
Punjab FC
– have occupied their spots in the top six. In the second phase, six teams will play amongst themselves for the title while the bottom five will battle to avoid relegation.
Churchill, Real Kashmir and Gokulam all have taken an unassailable lead and grab the top three spots. On the other hand, Punjab have 15 points in their kitty with one match left. If Punjab lose their last game and Aizawl win theirs on Sunday, they will be on equal points but still qualify because they had beaten Aizawl earlier in the league.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s game, Aizawl coach Yan Law sounded quite concerned because of the task at hand. “It’s going to be like a final for us and we are depending on other teams’ results as well. Chennai are a fantastic team but we will go out there and give our best,” said Law.
New signing Abhishek Rijal will be available for Aizawl and will have to play a big role if Aizawl have to make the top six.
As for TRAU, they will look to continue their good show against debutants Sudeva Delhi after having beaten Indian Arrows 5-1 in their last game.
Speaking on Saturday, TRAU coach Nandakumar Singh said, “I am very pleased with our performance against Arrows. But we cannot afford to rejoice just yet. We have another hurdle before we get to the next stage. I will be a happy man once we get a positive result on Sunday.”
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