Defending champions Gokulam Kerala FC will take on newly-promoted Kenkre FC on Saturday here at the Kalyani Stadium.
Gokulam Kerala come into this match on the back of a grand 5-1 victory over Real Kashmir led by braces from the strike duo of Luka Majcen and Jourdain Fletcher. "I'm happy to see both of them score, but I want to see goals from as many players as possible. Last year we had 10 different scorers. We want to improve that number this year," said head coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese.
"We want to keep winning. Mohammedan have already won all their games. So it's important for us to maintain continuity," the Italian added.
Coach Annese has a clear game plan in mind in order to defend the crown Gokulam won last season. "We want to dominate every team. We want to control the ball and make the other side afraid and frustrated. We want our full-backs to attack more and keep our defensive line high."
Thahir Zaman, present at the press conference, was originally a striker but has been playing out wide recently. "With my speed, I can play both as a striker and as a winger and contribute to the team," said the 26-year-old.
Coach Annese stated that his side respects Kenkre. "They are a tough side, compact in defence. In attack, they have two speedy strikers (Nagappan and Pandre). They are strong on the counter-attack so we need to be careful."
After a positive 1-1 draw against Real Kashmir in their opening match, Kenkre were well-beaten 4-0 by RoundGlass Punjab on Tuesday. However, coach Akhil Kothari took a lot of positives from the encounter. "After conceding three goals in the first half, we played better after the break. We want to improve further and bounce back against Gokulam. The mood in the camp is positive."
"Gokulam are the current champions and have a good squad and coach. We have already played two tough teams in the first two games and they will be another big challenge," he added.
Against Punjab, it was a special occasion for 26-year-old Yash Mhatre, who got to make his Hero I-League debut for the club of his life, Kenkre. "It was always my dream to play in the I-League. It wasn't the best of the days to debut but we only took learnings from the match. I know that we'll do better in the rest of the competition."
( With inputs from ANI )
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