Kochi: Who are the true inheritors of the ISL crown? Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Kaloor holds the key to the answer to that question. As Kerala Blasters take on Atletico de Kolkata, the second rankers in the league on Friday, one will get an inkling of who will top the League. Blasters do possess the discretion that even a win on Friday cannot fetch them the top spot in the table but it will definitely send a message out to the world that they are capable of lifting the Cup. Self-confidence will pervade the camp. The kickoff is at 7pm.
The Kolkata team’s endeavour will be to win on Friday and regain the top spot surpassing Chennaiyin FC. In other words a further loss today will mean losing the advantage of the psychological upper hand when coming face to face with Pune, Goa and Mumbai teams. Blasters have 12 points from 9 games. If they win they can continue at third place with 15 points and stride towards further victories.
Will Chopra play?
The question of whether Chopra will play arises again in the face of Blasters’ frontline struggling to score goals. Chopra who recovered from injury underwent training on Thursday. He also played in the practice match. He scored two goals in it according to marquee star and coach and goalie all rolled in one, David James. If so, Chopra is likely to play. Even if not present from the first whistle itself, he might take the field sometime during the second half.
Fierce battle
Today’s game is a keen tussle. Kolkata is a difficult team. It is a team that was firmly at the top of the points tally till yesterday. A team that will foul mercilessly, they have 20 yellow cards so far in their kitty, not to mention the ill-repute of 3 red cards. They had tackled opponents 189 times. It is almost as if the team tends to see rough play as a deliberate strategy. On the other hand we have Kerala who likes to control the game through marvelous moves. They are not very keen on a foul-filled game.
Battle formation
Blasters’ Hengbart, Colin Falvey and Sandesh Jhingan trio will be assisted by French star Raphael Romey for marking Garcia and Fikru of Kolkata. The best bet would be to tame them without fouling. Fouling will not only lead to the risk of free kick, it can infuriate the naturally aggressive Fikru. The one to weave strategies for testing Kolkata’s defenses should be the captain Penn Orji. He will have Stephen Pierson for company.
What the coaches say
Antonio Lopez Habas (Atletico de Kolkata)
We expect a tough battle. We are here to win and will work out all our skills and tactics. The crowd size does not overwhelm us. The larger the crowd the more encouraging it is for professional players. This does not therefore give any edge to the Blasters. We do not give a thought to the accusations that Fikru fouls, kicks up fights with opponents, etc. All that matter for us is that Fikru scores goals and creates opportunities. Injury does not matter as we have enough substitutes.
David James (Kerala Blasters)
Kolkata team is rich with talent. But we have to win. The Kochi crowd is one that creates the maximum din and excitement. For that very reason we crave to win all home matches. The team’s performance does not suffer if foreigners more than Indians play for it. The policy is to give chances to everyone who is free of injury. It is true that Kolkata scored just four goals in the last five games. But the best way to preempt Fikru and Garcia scoring goals is for us to score first.
Sachin, Ganguly not coming
Kerala Blasters’ team owner Sachin Tendulkar and Kolkata team owner Saurav Ganguly will not be in Kochi to watch the ISL game today. Sources close to Sachin had earlier informed that he will arrive to watch the super contest with Kolkata.