I-League: NEROCA aim to continue unbeaten run against struggling Real Kashmir

NEROCA FC will look to continue their unbeaten run when they take on a struggling Real Kashmir FC in an I-League fixture at the Kalyani Stadium here on Tuesday. The Manipur outfit are fresh from their comfortable win over TRAU, their second from three matches, to be in fourth place in the table with seven points with a match in hand. All eyes would be on NEROCA's Spanish recruit Sergio Mendigutxia, who slammed a debut hattrick for the Imphal outfit in their 3-2 win over Sreenidi Deccan in their opening match of the season. "I am very happy at the club and would like to continue. Our boys will fight to get all three points. I am very comfortable here and want to keep working," the 28-year-old centre forward said. Coming from a week's break, NEROCA will also start fresh and head coach Khogen Singh is confident this will benefit his team a lot. "We had a few tactical training sessions. The boys are fresh and want to win all three points," the NEROCA coach said. He further warned against complacency and said: "Real Kashmir are a good team who play long balls over the top of the defence. We have to make sure that we win the second ball. Players need to press accordingly to find spaces. We have to be clinical to get all three points."

The Snow Leopards have been struggling with their porous defence as they had to settle for a 1-1 draw after conceding a 90th minute goal against Sreenidi Deccan FC. Before that they suffered a 1-5 rout against Gokulam Kerala FC and currently lie in fifth place with five points from four matches. "We worked hard in the last match and played well. Unfortunately, we didn't get the result we wanted," experienced midfielder Pradesh Shirodkar said. "NEROCA FC are a good team and we have to play well