Kozhikode: Minerva Punjab will look to begin 2018 with a win when they face a direction-less Gokulam FC at the EMS Corporation Stadium here on Saturday. Their unscathed run of five games cane to an end with the 1-2 los to defending champions Aizwal FC but head coach Khogen Singh assured “There will be a difference,” this time around.
“We don’t want to lose,” he capitulated reiterating the impotance of being top of the table and ‘Bhutanese Ronaldo’ Chencho Gyeltshen has been the Chandigarh side’s most potent weapon as they conquered teams with ease. But recent downfall in their performance means they dropped to third however a win will be sufficient to carry them back to second above Neroca, currently poisoned there.
Khogen however refused to see themselves favourites against a struggling Gokulam FC and reiterated that,”anyone can win any day.”
“All I-League teams are equally good. Anybody can win against anybody. All teams want to win the game and Gokulam Kerala FC are no different. We have to continue our work and stick to our strategies to get the work done,” added the ‘Warriors’ gaffer.
The Punjabi Lions return after a gap of 10 days and while Khogen believes that the rest will bring them fresher with revitalised energy, it won’t make any difference on the pitch.
Debutants Gokulam on the other hand have just one win from six matches, that came against the young and inexperienced Indian Arrows. Playing their first season the Southern Outfits unlike the other two newbies (Arrows and Neroca) have failed to light up the league, disappointing the fans with repeated losses.
Coach Bino George however defended his boys for being new and said, ” It will take time for us to settle down as a unit.” But their biggest problem has been the lack of goal from their foreign contingent that has seen them part ways with two overseas players and sign the experienced African Odafa Okolie.
“Foreigners are scoring goals for the other teams. We are not getting the same sort of services from ours. That is our problem,”he said also adding that Odafa may well get his first start today if the pending paperwork is completed beforehand.
Facing a wounded Minerva will nonetheless make their case difficult, who after the gritty loss to Aizwal will aim to bounce back with a win. George however was resilient in his approach and asked his men to draw inspirations from the Arrows’ display against the mighty Mohun Bagan.
“Indian Arrows held Mohun Bagan and this is football. So we will try hard to get a result,” he concluded also hoping that Minerva’s long journey from the North-eastern part of the country to the southern will work as an advantage for his side.