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I-League: Our Boys Have Vowed To Remain In The I-League - Sporting Clube De Goa Coach Vishwas Gaonkar
Goan club desperate to survive in the league...
27-May-2010 8:04:00 PM
By Rahul Sengupta
The relegation battle in the I-League has come down to the wire. The last match day of the league will see four relegation battlers fighting for survival in three different regions of the country. One amongst them is Sporting Clube de Goa who are just two points behind Shillong Lajong and Mumbai FC, and three behind Air India.
The Flaming Orange never had a string of good results through the season, until they found themselves in the last chance saloon. Analyzing the season so far, coach Vishwas Gaonkar explained, “We had a very bad start to the season because our preparation was not up to the mark and more over our foreigners were not effective. They only came into the good books in the later stages of the league.”
As the team prepares to travel to the other end of the country to play Chirag United in their final game, Gaonkar is quite upbeat about his team’s chances and states, “Our boys are prepared and know how important the match is. Moreover all my players have vowed that they want to remain in the I-League and so they can not afford any slip-up at this moment.”
Playing in Kolkata wouldn't be easy for the Goan side but Goankar remains optimistic and highlights the positive displays against the Big Two of Kolkata.
“It's normal for us. We have earlier played there against Mohun Bagan and East Bengal and came up with good performances. I'm not worried about the Kolkata factor.”
It will be very important for Sporting to keep a tab on the performances of the other teams in the relegation zone as well.
“Yes I'll keep my mobile phone active and will keep a track on the results in Mumbai and Goa. But still I will focus on my game and try to earn the crucial three points.”
For the record, Sporting need to win and hope both Lajong and Mumbai FC lose, in order for the Goans to stay up.
The Flaming Orange never had a string of good results through the season, until they found themselves in the last chance saloon. Analyzing the season so far, coach Vishwas Gaonkar explained, “We had a very bad start to the season because our preparation was not up to the mark and more over our foreigners were not effective. They only came into the good books in the later stages of the league.”
As the team prepares to travel to the other end of the country to play Chirag United in their final game, Gaonkar is quite upbeat about his team’s chances and states, “Our boys are prepared and know how important the match is. Moreover all my players have vowed that they want to remain in the I-League and so they can not afford any slip-up at this moment.”
Playing in Kolkata wouldn't be easy for the Goan side but Goankar remains optimistic and highlights the positive displays against the Big Two of Kolkata.
“It's normal for us. We have earlier played there against Mohun Bagan and East Bengal and came up with good performances. I'm not worried about the Kolkata factor.”
It will be very important for Sporting to keep a tab on the performances of the other teams in the relegation zone as well.
“Yes I'll keep my mobile phone active and will keep a track on the results in Mumbai and Goa. But still I will focus on my game and try to earn the crucial three points.”
For the record, Sporting need to win and hope both Lajong and Mumbai FC lose, in order for the Goans to stay up.
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