Chennaiyin FC eye first win of season against Mumbai City
CHENNAI : Defending champions Chennaiyin FC will look to notch up their first win of the season when they lock horns with Mumbai City FC in their Indian Super League match here Saturday.
CFC have made the worst possible start to their title defence losing four of their five games. They lie ninth in the points table with the solitary point coming from a 0-0 draw against Delhi Dynamos.
Defensive lapses by the reining champions has seen them lose at home, much to the chagrin of fans and coach John Gregory will look to plug the holes in the misfiring backline.
The absence of defensive midfielder Dhanapal Ganesh, owing to injury, has hurt the team’s plans and the move to try Inigo Calderon hasn’t paid off.
For a side known to have a strong defensive unit, CFC has already conceded 10 goals this season and Gregory would certainly be looking to repair his side’s defensive lapses.
Carlos Salom, who scored against ATK, has been preferred to an off-colour Jeje Lalpekhlua in recent games. Wingers Thoi Singh and Isaac Vanmalsawma are starting to show some efficiency which should augur well for the team. Come Saturday, Gregory will be hoping the team finds inspiration against Mumbai, which is at No 6.
On the other hand, Mumbai City FC’S performance has been up and down. The side did well to bounce back against Delhi after being routed 5-0 by FC Goa. They currently have seven points from five games. Arnold Issoko and Moudou Sougou shone for Mumbai in the game against Delhi finding the net but the team’s Portuguese coach Jorge Costa would be expecting more from the them.
KERALA HOLD HOSTS PUNE TO 1-1 DRAW
PUNE: Kerala Blasters were handed their fourth successive draw in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2018 after being held by FC Pune City 1-1 at the Shiv Chhatrapati Shivaji stadium on Friday.
A class strike from Marko Stankovic (13’) got Pune City up and running only to see Nikola Krcmarevic (62’) pull Kerala Blasters level in the second half. The result pulls Pune City, still without a win, off the bottom of the table temporarily while Kerala Blasters have moved up to the fifth spot with seven points.