I League: Chennai City FC eager to continue good run against East Bengal

Fresh from a victory over Churchill Brothers, Chennai takes on East Bengal on Friday.

(From left) Chennai City FC captain M. Soosairaj and head coach V. Soundararajan shake hands with East Bengal's coach Khalid Jamil and Willis Plaza at the Nehru Stadium in Coimbatore on Thursday.

Chennai City Football Club (CCFC) had sounded an early warning to the other teams when it surprised Churchill Brothers in the I-League football clash on Tuesday. The team is now eager to continue the good work as it takes on Kolkata giant East Bengal in its first home clash at the Nehru Stadium here on Friday.

East Bengal may be a much bigger challenge to contend with, but Chennai can take heart from the fact that it had beaten the team last season .

“It’s a tough match but we are ready for the battle,” said V. Soundararajan, Chennai’s head coach. “Last year, we had a very good side. The current squad is equally strong and the win against Churchill Brothers has come at the right time and has also given that extra bit of confidence for our boys,” he added.

Travel fatigue

But the area of concern is the recovery time for its players between matches. “We have been travelling quite a bit and our players need some time to settle down and practise before a big clash like this,” said Soundararajan.

East Bengal, on the other hand, wants to put last year’s defeat behind and start afresh. “We do not want to talk about the past but we are only focused on tomorrow’s game. Also, we will not take this match lightly as we are playing a very good side as well. We will take it one step at a time,” said Khalid Jamil, its head coach.

Both teams preferred to keep the cards close to their chest but one can be certain of a cracker of a contest.