Chennai City FC and Minerva Punjab, making their I-League debut, > secured a point each as they settled for a goalless draw at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Sunday.
The home coach Robin Charles Raja was happy to gather a point from the team’s first outing and said: "We should have got three points. But a draw is better than losing. I feel it is a point gained and not two points lost. I’m happy with how we played as a team despite limited practice sessions together."
Minerva Punjab gaffer Surinder Singh was equally satisfied with the point. "It was an attacking game as the boys were playing to score and win the match. Chennai City also played well and it’s a good start for both the debutants. In the first half both teams had good chances and if you see ball possession stats, we had more," he opined.
Surinder was happy with the youngsters in his team. "The youngsters played well. If you see our third substitution, Krishna Pandit (forward) played well. He will get a chance in the next few games and so will the other young players. It was good exposure for them to play 10-15 minutes with the seniors in a high-pressure match."
Fan support
After jumping through quite a few obstacles, Chennai City finally made its I-League debut. However, the turnout for the historic occasion was lower than expected. Robin Charles summed up the situation bluntly: “We need more fans.”
Hope the football fans of the city are listening.
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