By Kenkre FC Media

MUMBAI: Kenkre FC face LoneStar Kashmir FC in the opening game of the Western Conference of the 2nd Division League at Mumbai’s Cooperage Stadium on Monday evening. The 2nd Division League will take place in a home-away format this season after the teams were divided into two conferences based on the geographical proximity.

Kenkre FC enjoy a home advantage against their visitors from Kashmir and assistant coach Oscar Alva is determined to make the most of home comforts. “We want to take full advantage of the home games. We are playing our home games first, so that sees us play our first five games in Mumbai. We want to gain as many points as we can at home and then we can work out a strategy for the away games.” said the Kenkre FC number two as he spoke at the pre-match press conference at Cooperage on Sunday.

The two sides shared the spoils in the last game they played against each other in last year’s competition, but Alva feels his side will go all out in the search for three points and felt a point won’t be a good enough outcome for his team. “We always get into a game with a mindset of winning the game. So tomorrow is no different and we would like to win against LoneStar Kashmir. I don’t like to play for a draw and we will be going all out for the win tomorrow,” said Alva.

Oscar Alva, who was the former Kenkre U-19 coach, seemed pleased with his side’s preparations for the 2nd Division League and revealed that his side have worked very hard on the training pitch to get their fitness levels up. Kenkre FC are in good form in the MDFA Elite Division and also have been playing friendlies with the likes of ONGC. “We are following the Elite Division games as they come, but we have also played friendly matches against stronger teams like ONGC and overall we are happy with our preparations for the league,” Oscar added.

“We are ready for the action”, Nitesh Aswani, Kenkre FC captain

Kenkre FC skipper Nitesh Aswani who addressed the pre-match press conference along with assistant coach Oscar Alva said that his team are ready for the action and expects the league to test his team’s strength. “We have a good team. Our foreign players have gelled well and we are looking forward to the game against LoneStar Kashmir FC. I expect the league to be difficult, so as a captain, my job is to motivate the players to face such periods of pressure and I am sure we will be able to cope with the pressure,” said skipper Aswani ahead of the game.