2nd Division League: Kenkre FC vs Minerva FAC Preview

by Kaushal Shukla November 19, 2015

Kenkre FC entertain Minerva Football Academy in the Western Conference game of the 2nd Division League at Cooperage on Thursday evening. Minerva Football Academy makes its debut in the I-League and is the only the second team from the northern part of the country to participate in the competition.

Kenkre FC come into the game on the back of a tight 0-0 draw against LoneStar Kashmir FC, but will be looking to make home advantage count against the debutants
But the Minerva Academy which has been training youngsters for the defense forces will have enough ammunition to hurt Kenkre at Cooperage.

We are looking to convert the draw into a win this time: Salim Pathan, Kenkre FC Head Coach
Kenkre FC Head Coach Salim Pathan expressed his disappointment at his side’s failure to pick up all three points in the last game against LoneStar Kashmir and is urging his team to convert the draw into a win. “We were disappointed with the result last time out, I felt we had the chances to win the game, but we did not take them. We must make sure we do enough to win the game this time out,” Pathan said during the pre-match press conference yesterday.

However, Minerva are a completely unknown opponent to Kenkre FC and Coach Salim Pathan said his team will have to learn about their opponents in the first ten minutes of the game. “We have never seen Minerva play, so it was slightly difficult to prepare for them. But we have worked on our deficiencies from the last game and will be slightly wary in the first ten minutes of the game,” revealed Pathan.

The Kenre FC skipper Nitesh Aswani was happy with the way his side defended in the first game and echoed his coach’s thought about the importance of taking the chances in matches. “I felt we did pretty well defensively, although we did make some mistakes, but I felt we must be more clinical in front of goal if we are to win matches regularly, the Kenkre FC skipper added.

We will have to adjust quickly to the artificial pitch: Surinder Singh, Minerva FC Head Coach

Minerva FC Head Coach Surinder Singh expressed his concern about the artificial turf at Cooperage as he spoke about the difficulty to adjust on the pitch. “We aren’t used to playing on the artificial surface as we train on natural grass. So we will have to adjust quickly to this surface,” said Singh ahead of the game.