Pride at stake for Chennai vs Lajong

COIMBATORE: Chennai City are heading into a must-win I-League fixture against Shillong Lajong at the JLN Stadium here on Sunday. After a sensational 2-1 victory over Mohun Bagan in their first game of the year, they have only obtained five points from a possible 21.

Head coach V Soundararajan is hoping to gain three points at home for the first time. Chennai City have won two games so far in I-League this season and both have come at away grounds.

“The strategy is to win the game. Winning is important for us. We haven’t yet won yet in Coimbatore so it is important to win. The fact that we haven’t won at home is a drawback. The only problem has been scoring goals,” said Soundararajan.

The team has been struggling to score goals and have just one goal to their name in the last seven games.

French forward Jean Micheal Joachim, who is their top scorer with five goals to his name, is on a dry spell in the attacking third and his coach is hoping to get his pre-match calculations right in order to solve their attacking woes.

“The only problem has been scoring goals. Last day, we tried a combination of two strikers Joachim and Aleksander. Shillong have been playing in cold weather so the climate condition could be an advantage for us.”

However, Shillong Lajong coach Alison Kharsyntiew had opposing views on the effect on climatic conditions on his players. “It is not the first time for us (in humid conditions). We have played in Guwahati, Calicut. I don’t think the weather is going to affect us,” remarked the coach.

After a convincing 2-0 win against Neroca, Lajong succumbed to three consecutive losses against Mohun Bagan, Minerva Punjab and Gokulam Kerala. They are fifth on the table, three places above their opponents but Kharsyntiew’s men cannot afford to be inconsistent.