Aizawl FC eye win against Northeastern rivals Neroca FC

Neroca FC will eye their maiden victory in the I-League when they lock horns with former champions Aizawl FC in the Northeastern derby at home on Friday. Neroca travelled to Kozhikode on the opening day but were handed a 1-2 loss by Gokulam Kerala.

Aizawl FC, on the other hand, faced Mohun Bagan on the opening day of the season and earned a point through a spirited display against the Kolkata outfit, as they held them to a goalless draw. Both sides clash in a bid to register their first win of the season.

Aizawl FC were in action in the Mizoram Premier League on Tuesday and as a result will have a few tired legs in their squad. "I am pleased with the performance of my players against Mohun Bagan and I wanted to get something out of the match, and we earned one important point," Aizawl FC head coach, Stanley Rozario said.

Weighing in on their opponent, he added, "It's a very tight schedule and I don't want my players to get any injuries. NEROCA are a good team and have a full squad with foreigners and will come strongly against us." Reflecting on their opening day loss to Gokulam Kerala, Neroca head coach, Gift Raikhan said, "It was a very difficult journey for us. It was the first match of the season. We travelled 3500 kilometres away from home."

"We fought and we showed that we were strong mentally, physically and technically. We feel sad about the result but we are back at home. The match is very important. We need three points against Aizawl but first of all, we need to relax, recover and then plan. Everything will be alright," Raikhan said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)