I-League: Real Kashmir, Mohammedan SC look to end on a high

Kalyani (West Bengal), March 24 Real Kashmir will take on Mohammedan Sporting, aiming to break their winless streak in the second phase, as both sides battle it out for the fifth place of Group A in the I-League. The match will be held at the Kalyani Municipal Stadium on Thursday.

Pedro Manzi put up a brilliant individual display and helped Mohammedan Sporting break Real Kashmir's nine-game unbeaten run when the two sides last met in matchweek 10. Since then, David Robertson's Real Kashmir have spiralled into a five-game winless run which put paid their title challenge.

Real Kashmir will be motivated to beat Mohammedan SC, who themselves have seen a mixed set of results, and finish the campaign on a high note.

"We dominated the second half against Punjab, creating many chances. We are disappointed that we failed to get a draw from the game," said Real Kashmir goalkeeping coach Jonathan Craig.

"We trust what we have been doing. We have been good in patches against Gokulam, Punjab. Against MohammedanSC, it was just one of those games where a piece of brilliance from Manzi came out of the blue and took the game away from us. But we need to keep on doing what we are doing and convert our chances and win the game against them," Craig added.

Mohammedan SC have seen a large improvement in their results since Sankarlal Chakraborty has taken over, and they were also responsible for blowing the title race wide open when they routed Churchill Brothers two matchweeks ago.

But the Black Panthers are now out of contention for the title as they sit fifth in Group A with 20 points. This, however, will not stop Chakraborty's players from contending for all three points against Kashmir.

"We have not been getting the results we deserved. A few silly mistakes have been responsible for us conceding goals. Our self-pride and club's pride on the line, and so we will try our best to win the game against Kashmir," said Chakraborty.

"Football is a team game. All players are extraordinary. We have only one foreigner now. But we are very much prepared for the game. I have a very good squad with great support staff assistant coach, keeper coach, media officers, physiotherapists, doctors, club officials, and investors. Their support has helped us to perform so well," he added.

( With inputs from IANS )