Gokulam Kerala will hope to end their I-League 2018-19 season on a high with a win over East Bengal on Saturday and assist Chennai City to lift their maiden league title.
The Southern outfit finally broke their 13-match winless run in their last game against NEROCA FC by beating them 2-1 at home.
Ahead of facing the Kolkata giants, technical director Gift Raikhan said, “I don’t have anything to gain or anything to lose but I want to win. We just have motivation. It is always good to play against East Bengal. I am very excited to play them because they are a good team and one of the title contenders. So I will really enjoy the match tomorrow.
“Motivation is already there for the young and senior layers in my side since they are playing against East Bengal. They will play with a free mind, no pressure and nothing to lose. They will prove that they are as equally capable as East Bengal.
Raikhan did not want to make a prediction on the possible champions of the league. He said, “Very difficult to predict. It was like this last year when NEROCA faced East Bengal at home. They didn’t beat us (NEROCA). They played very well but we drew. Tomorrow Minerva and Chennai City will be a tough match and here, East Bengal versus Gokulam will be a tough match. So it is very difficult to predict.”
The former NEROCA FC boss did not want to speak about the reverse fixture which Gokulam Kerala lost 3-1 in Kolkata. “I don’t know about the past. I don’t want to dwell in it. They played a good game with Minerva in their last match and I hope they will a good game tomorrow too. We are waiting for them and want to play with them. We want to enjoy, match their performance. We are ready for the match. I only want to focus on tomorrow’s match and not the past,” said the technical director.
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