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Mumbai City FC host Kerala Blasters
26 Nov 2015

MUMBAI: Mumbai City FC and Kerala Blasters are both aware that they will have to kiss their chances in the Hero Indian Super League goodbye, if they cannot get a positive result in Mumbai on Thursday.

 

Not everything is lost as mathematically the teams still have a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals. The two teams are placed at the bottom of the table with a point separating them. While Mumbai City FC are placed seventh with 12 points from 11 matches, Kerala Blasters are at the bottom with 11 points from 11  matches. 

 

“It’s a very hard situation. We were expecting to be among the last teams (but) now its very very hard to reach our target. We are still hoping as mathematically we still have a chance. We have to win all three games, so we start with Kerala,” Mumbai City FC marquee player-manager Nicolas Anelka said at the pre-match media briefing.

 

“Once we take the three points from Kerala, we can think about Chennai (our next opponents). We have to take it game by game and stay focused,” said Anelka.

 

Anelka said the table does not lie and if Mumbai City are among the bottom-two teams, it means they have not done well enough in the 11 matches so far.

 

“It’s difficult for everybody. We wanted to be in a different position. This is where you see the character of the team and fighting spirit. In difficult times, we will see on the pitch if we are strong enough in our heads to win three points,” said the former Real Madrid striker.

 

Kerala Blasters coach Terry Phelan is also not giving up.

 

“We are both in a desperate situation. It will be a nerve-racking. We have to only worry about ourselves. If we can play to our expectations, we can beat anybody on a given day,” said Phelan, who took over from Peter Taylor midway into the competition.

 

A win for Kerala Blasters will not significantly change the team’s position on the table but Phelan said it will give his team more confidence going into the last two matches.

 

“We have to go out and perform to the best of our abilities. We have to roll our sleeves and take one game at a time. If we can try and get a result here, it will give us a lot of confidence going into the next game at home,” said Phelan.

 

Kerala Blasters have FC Goa (November 29) and Delhi Dynamos (December 3) to play in the remaining two matches, while Mumbai City FC meet Chennaiyin FC (December 1) and Atletico de Kolkata (December 4).

(REPORT AND PICTURE COURTESY -- HERO ISL).

 
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