TRAU eyeing second win of season against Churchill Brothers

Both teams are on a 4-game unbeaten run in the I-League 2020-21.

Churchill Brothers will aim to extend their four-point lead at the top of the I-league table when the Red Machines clash against second-placed TRAU at the Kalyani Municipal Stadium in Kalyani, West Bengal tomorrow (January 29, 2021) in a top-of-the-table clash. The kick-off is slated for 7:00 pm IST and the match will be streamed live on 1Sports Facebook page.

With TRAU FC and Mohammedan SC hot on Churchill’s heels, the Goan club would aim to continue their winning streak and look to break free of the chasing pack by extending their lead to seven points with a win in their next match against TRAU.

Speaking at the official pre-match press conference Varela said, “It is very important to keep winning and keep the momentum alive. However, each game is different and TRAU have a different style of playing football.”

“They (TRAU) have a very good coach and very good individual players like (Komron) Tursunov and (Joseph) Olaleye. We will have to be on our toes and will have to pay attention. We would like to impose our gameplay and hopefully get a positive result that would extend our lead further,” he added.

Defender Hamza Kheir said, “The Hero I-League is a very fast league and the players here play as a team. It is very intensive and tomorrow’s game will be a tough challenge for us. However, we are ready to give our best and will aim for a good result.”

TRAU has been a revelation this season in the Hero I-League. The Manipur-based club built mostly around young Indian talent is still undefeated in the league and have propelled themselves to second place after a hard-fought 2-0 win over Chennai City FC in their last match.

There might be no talks of being a title contender in TRAU’s camp but there certainly are talks of taking one match at a time and seeing what fate decides. A win tomorrow would bring TRAU just a point behind table-toppers Churchill Brothers.

Speaking at the pre-match virtual meet, Coach Nandakumar said, “With the potential we have in our squad, I am not surprised to see us second in the league. But, the important thing now is to maintain our rhythm and hold our position. Our aim is to finish top six first in the league and then think of other things.”

“All I can say is that we are focused on the next match against Churchill. We will try to do our best to get three points. Perhaps it is too early to dub us as title contenders and we aim to take one match at a time.”

“It just takes one mistake for Churchill to punish you. That is how good they are and it is always difficult to play against a very balanced and technically good team. We will have to be cautious against them as every moment is precious and be on our toes,” he added.

Goalkeeper Poirei Soram said, “We want to keep the momentum going and we aim to put a good show against Churchill. We will be looking to grab some points and hope to keep our morale up. This season, every match is important and we cannot get complacent for even one match. We have to play like each match is our last.”