AIFF Media Team

IMPHAL: Neroca FC, the first Manipuri team to ply their trade in the Hero I-League, will come out to host Chennai City FC at the Khuman Lampak Stadium in Imphal tomorrow (December 15, 2017) in what’s going to be the first-ever I-League encounter to be staged in the Northeastern state.

Meanwhile, Neroca FC will approach the tie on the back of an away win against Gokulam Kerala FC whereas Chennai City FC are coming from a torrid away run so far.

Speaking to the media at the Pre-match Conference held today, Coach of Chennai FC, V Soundarajan said the team will give their best in tomorrow’s match as they were defeated in the two matches played earlier.

“We’re not going to lose this tie at any point of time. We know, we had a very tough time until now but tomorrow might be our day here, who knows”, Soundarajan said.

He added more that it’s going to be their first home match of the Manipuri outfit and there’ll be huge support for them,  but his team is ready to carry out their duty.

“Our boys have gradually improved from their first outing so far and tomorrow we’re surely going to dish out an impressive show in front of the strong support for Neroca FC”, he added.

“We have a strong base and we’ll put more than 5 Chennai-based players and also the presence of two players from Manipur in the team will have some advantage on the team”, the coach stated.

On the other hand, Coach of NEROCA FC, Gift Raikhan said that his team is fully aware of the situation and they want to make the best out of it.

“Yes, we are aware of the emotional connect of the situation and we’re surely going to push our limits to make the best out of it”, the coach pronounced during the pre-match press conference today.

“We will give 100% effort to win the match. We know it’s going to be the first I-League match to be played in our state but we should not get carried away by the occasion. We have to absolutely spot on”, Raikhan sounded focused but not complacent.

Gift Raikhan showed immense respect for his counterparts despite their not-so-impressive start to the campaign so far.

“Chennai FC is a team with good attacking skills and as such 3 to 4 players of the team will be marked in the defence line to keep them on a check.”

The match is scheduled to kick-off at 02:00 PM and it’ll be telecast live on Star Sports 2, 2 HD and streamed live on Hotstar, Jio TV.