In-from Mariners continue their winning streak in Indian Football League 2020-21 when they face Hyderabad tonight.
Match Timings: Feb 22, 7:30 PM IST
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Indian Football League, 2020-21, is in its final week, and two confident sides, Hyderabad and Mariners, will take on each other tonight. Habas’s men have a 5-matches winning streak, and they are favourites to end the league-stage on top. The AFC Champions League qualification and the Shield Trophy are going to Mariners this season if they continue the similar trend this week.
In its last outing, they defeated arch-rivals Bengal in the second Kolkata derby clash of the season and made the league double. Roy Krishna, David Williams, and Javi Hernandez scored for the Mariners. Tiri produced an own goal for Bengal. It was another dominating display from the Kolkata giants. Before the David Williams’ strike in the 72nd minute, the match was heading towards a draw.
After losing the first spot to Mumbai, Habas’ men changed the table in the last couple of weeks and made the 5-points difference to 2nd placed Islanders. If they win tonight, Mariners will take the shield trophy and earn the AFC Champions League qualification. If they lose and Mumbai wins its next game, then the Mumbai-Kolkata game will decide the shield winner. But Habas’ men can still win the trophy if they hold Mumbai for a 1-1 draw.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad are also coming off a 10-matches unbeaten streak, and they are in the race of playoffs. In the last outing, they also improved its goal difference with a 4-0 victory against Kerala. Kerala started very well in the first half when they got a penalty appeal in the 5th minute when Chinglensana clashed with Bakary Kone, but the referee denied it. Albino Gomes made a big mistake, but Costa Nhamoinesu rescued Kerala. Hooper got a good chance for Kerala, but Laxmikant Kattimani produced a fine save. Prasanth Karuthadathkuni’s one good shot also fall straight at Kattimani. The first half ended without any goal, but Nizams came on top in the second half. Francisco Sandaza scored a brace in just 5 minutes to give a 2-0 lead at the 63rd minute. Aridane Santana delivered a bullet header from Lluis Sastre’s free-kick to give Hyderabad a 3-0 lead, and later, Joao Victor scored the fourth goal of the day with an injury-time strike.
After Goa’s victory against Bengaluru, Nizams cannot afford to lose points tonight. Even a draw can hurt them later as tomorrow Northeast will also feature in its 19th game, and the result of the game will affect the table. Asish Rai is nursing a hamstring injury, so it might be a big blow to Hyderabad if he doesn’t make his availability for this fixture.
Possible Lineups & Current Form
Hyderabad
Laxmikant Kattimani; Nikhil Poojary, Odei Onaindia, Chinglensana Singh, Akash Mishra, Joel Chianese, Joao Victor, Hitesh Sharma, Halicharan Narzary, Fran Sandaza, Aridane Santana
Current Form: W D D W D
Previous Match: 4-0 victory against Kerala
Mohun B.
Arindam Bhattacharya; Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Tiri, Subhasish Bose, Lenny Rodrigues, Carl McHugh, Manvir Singh, Marcelinho, David Williams, Roy Krishna
Current Form: W W W W W
Previous Match: 3-1 victory against Bengal
Key Players
Hyderabad
Aridane Santana
9 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Halicharan Narzary
4 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Mohun B.
Roy Krishna
14 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Manvir Singh
4 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21