I-League 2021: TRAU eye second win of the season as they take on ninth-placed Punjab FC

Kalyani: Third-placed Tiddim Road Athletic Union (TRAU) would look to notch up their second win of the I-League when they clash with ninth-placed Punjab FC at the Kalyani Municipal stadium on Thursday. TRAU have been the dark horses of the season so far. The team from Manipur is undefeated in the league and has grabbed seven points from five matches, albeit winning only once. It has been a good start to the season for head coach Nandakumar and he believes his team has to keep this momentum going. “We have the potential and the ability to maintain this momentum and keep going forward. Thus, it is very important to keep this momentum alive and aim for nothing short of a win tomorrow,” he said. “During the course of the season, we have shown that we can attack as well as defend. We have shown that we can come from behind as well. We just need to take our chances in front of goal and the draws will convert to wins.” Forward Bidyashagar Singh said, It will be a good test for us tomorrow as they (Punjab FC) are very good on the counter. “We will have to be defensively solid and would have to take our chances if we are to get a positive result from the match. However, we trust that we are ready and will aim for all three points.” Punjab FC were held to a goalless draw by Sudeva Delhi FC in their last match. The Punjab based team has garnered five points from as many matches and need a win to propel themselves out of the bottom half of the table. Coach Curtis Fleming said “it will be a very difficult game” for his team. “We respect every team. An individual does not win the game alone and thus we have no plans for individual players of TRAU. However, we know they are going to cause us problems but we are sure that we will be able to handle them,” he said. “We want to win every game, we want to be at the top of the I-League and we dominated possession in the last two games. It is only a matter of time before results come our way.”