I-League 2021: Real Kashmir look to end winless streak against Mohammedan SC, aim to finish season on high

Kalyani: Real Kashmir will hope to end their five-game winless streak in the second phase when they take on Mohammedan SC in a battle for fifth place in Group A of the I-League on Thursday. Pedro Manzi put up a brilliant individual display and helped Mohammedan break Real Kashmir’s nine-game unbeaten run last month. Since then, David Robertson’s side has gone spiralling down and are placed at the bottom of Group A with 18 points from 14 games. “We have been good in patches against Gokulam, Punjab. Against Mohammedan, it was just one of those games where a piece of brilliance from Manzi took the game away from us,” Goalkeeping coach Jonathan Craig, said. “But we need to keep on doing what we are doing and convert our chances and win the game against them.” Mohammedan threw the title race wide open when they routed Churchill Brothers two game-weeks ago. But the Black Panthers are now out of contention for the title as they sit fifth in Group A with 20 points. “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 is on the line, and so we will try our best to win the game against Kashmir,” coach Sankarlal Chakraborty said. “Real Kashmir are a very good team. They started the season very well, and despite their recent slump in results, they have quality in their team. “When we beat them earlier in the season, the situation was quite different. This game might even be harder than the last match, and we will need to be tough and get all three points from this game.”