Chirag United Kerala welcomes the defending champions Salgaocar SC in their eighth round tie of I-League 2011-12 on Saturday. The home side are desperately trying to resurrect a faltering campaign as they go into this round having registered only a single point from the last six matches.
The four points gained so far have all come away from home for the Kerala club as they struggle to find their feet in their new home - the University Stadium in Trivandrum. On the other hand, the All India Football Federation's decision to exclude developmental side Palian Arrows from relegation means Chirag find themselves in the danger zone as they are third from the bottom of the table.
The task wont be any easier with the absence of Charles Dzisah for'the home match as a result of a red card in the previous game against Palian Arrows. Coach Nizam Pakir Ali has his hands full, with his defence failing to keep a clean sheet after the 0-1 victory against HAL SC on the opening day of the season at Bangalore.
Anil Kumar is set to make his first home appearance this season after his transfer from Dempo SC a couple of weeks ago. Chirag will once again look to their captian and talisman K Ajayan for inspiration. Saleel has been a revelation so far and has given an an extra dimension going forward with his wily wing play. New signing David Sunday, a Nigerian striker, has joined the team and will be available for the weekend fixture. Only Michael Matricciani and OK Javed are missing from Chirag's squad due to injury.
Salgaocar themselves have had a slow start to the season after picking up only eight points from seven matches so far. They have been far from convincing to the side that won the league last season. They are the lowest ranking among the Goan clubs in the table and they would need a run of good matches to put themselves back in the title race.
Karim Bencherifa would bring a depleted side to Trivandrum as custodian Karanjit Singh and midfielder Rocus Lamare are missing due to internaional commitments for India in the SAFF Championship 2011. Edeh Chidi and Ryuji Seuoka would still be threat up front and the Chirag defence could ill afford to drop their guard against the pacy Nigerian. Even with a weakened side, Dempo would still go into this match as favourites to gain all three points from the encounter.
With the game due to kick off at 03:30 PM on the Saturday evening, another healthy turnout is expected at the University Stadium here in Trivandrum. Although the home crowd has so far been disapointed with the lack of attacking flair from Chirag, they would still show up hoping the only Kerala representatives in the I-League can turn their fortunes over.
Organizers would be encouraged by the public participation in the home matches as Trivandrum starts to rediscover its lost passion for football.
Probables for Chirag Kerala: Sharath K, Arindham Ghosh, Isaac Boakye, Sherin Sam, K Noushad, Jagdeep Singh, Ajayan K, Asif K, Shahbaz Saleel, Vignesh Gunasekhar, Vineeth CK, Anil Kumar PK, David Sunday.
Rohan Shah writes for FootballKerala.com
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Friday 2 December 2011, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.