I League: Minerva keen to maintain winning streak against Chennai

The teams square off on Monday in Ludhiana.

Minerva Punjab’s players at a training session ahead of their I League fixture against Chennai City FC.

Minerva Punjab will be keen to continue its unbeaten run when it hosts Chennai City FC on Monday.

Minerva has two consecutive wins under its belt - against Neroca FC and Indian Arrows - after having played out a 1-1 draw against Mohun Bagan in the tourney opener. With seven points in three matches, Minerva head coach Khogen Singh said his team would like to maintain the momentum. “We are going for three points every game: Day in, Day out. We won’t pay loose football. We will follow the same philosophy and play according to our strength,” he said.

'Not worries about weather'

Chennai, on the other hand, is still looking for its first victory of the competition. It was beaten 3-0 by Indian Arrows before playing out a 1-1 draw against newcomer Gokulam FC . Its coach V. Soundararajan dismissed the discomfort of playing in cold weather. “We aren’t worried too much about the weather. As soon as the players will come on the pitch, they will get warmed up so it doesn’t really bother us,” he said.

“Minerva Punjab have played really well, they are a strong team. We have analysed their strikers. Our team wasn’t settled in the first match against Indian Arrows. The team bonding was missing there but in the second game, we played well. We are here to get three points. We will go all out,” he concluded.