Gokulam Kerala FC, Tiddim Road Athletic Union (TRAU) FC, and Churchill Brothers SC figure in a three-way contest for the title making the concluding round of the Hero I-League’s championship leg a virtual final.
The current standings see the above team in a three-way tie with 26 points but Gokulam is leading the race on account of having better statistics in terms of head-to-head results as compared to the other two.
The Kozhikode-based side will take on Imphal’s TRAU at the Kishore Bharati Stadium, while other match will see two-time champion from Margao, Churchill Brothers, meeting another former champion RoundGlass Punjab FC (Mohali) at the Salt Lake Stadium. Both matches will start simultaneously at 5 p.m.
Both Gokulam and TRAU have been quite impressive in the championship leg where each has remained unbeaten while winning three and drawing one match respectively. The calculation is straight for Gokulam— it just needs to beat TRAU to secure its maiden I-League crown.
Cannot relax
“This is a final for us, and we need to win this game. We are too excited, we cannot relax. The mood is fine, but we have just one thing on our mind and that is to win this game,” said Gokulam Kerala coach Vincenzo Annese on Friday.
The Malabarians had beaten the Imphal side 3-1 in the first phase and the result could spur the former to go for another successful outing. TRAU also needs a win, which will keep it ahead of Churchill Brothers statistically in case of a tie on points.
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