I-League: Minerva eyes to get on track against Indian Arrows

Defending champions Minerva Punjab, who have been anything but that so far in the season, will hope they get back to winning ways in their I-League match against Indian Arrows here Saturday.

Minerva Punjab has won just one game from five outings to be placed a lowly eighth on the table.

In head-to-head, the 'Warriors' from Punjab have won both the encounters so far and that should give the new coach, Irishman Paul Munster, a sense of ease.

The Arrows coach Floyd Pinto, on the other hand, would be aware that his young side has looked the part but would need to deliver results sooner rather than later if they want to finish anywhere near the top of the league table.

Munster would be happy with the fact that Ghanaian striker William Opoku, a key player for his side having scored five times for Minerva last season, finally opened his scoring account in the last game against Shillong.

He would also be happy with the form of Nigerian midfielder Philip Njoku who has been playing with a lot of purpose and penetration in the last two games, as well as the fact that his team while playing the entire second half against Shillong with 10 men, never looked like doing so.

"We are happy to come back home. We have taken the positives from our last game. Our first half was really tough, but even after going down to 10 men, our boys recovered and scored.

"In my opinion, it's a very big result, but now, it's a must-win game for us tomorrow at home," said Munster.

"We are creating lots of chances. It's just the strikers who should believe in themselves and converting those chances. We just have to work harder," he added.

Minerva would want to have a re-look at their defensive tactics though, as besides conceding five goals, way too many for their style of play generally, they have been caught out on the break too many times.

(With inputs from agencies.)