I-League: Minerva ready for Arrows attack

PANAJI: Indian Arrows may have lost the element of surprise after demolishing Chennai City FC in their opening I-League encounter but that hardly perturbs Portuguese coach Luis Morton de Matos.If anything, it appears to please him. “Minerva Punjab FC now know they have to play 100 percent to beat us,” he said on the eve of his young team’s second match at the GMC Athletic Stadium, Bambolim, near here on Monday.“Minerva and other teams are now prepared to fight to beat our team,” said the Portuguese father-figure of the World Cup U-17 team which contributed 10 players to the starting line-up against Chennai on Wednesday.“We are not obliged to win every game but are obliged to try and win every game,” the coach put forth his philosophy even as he proudly declared the fact that his team, dismissed by sceptics before their win against Chennai, comprises seven players just 16 years of age.One of them, defender Jitendra Singh at his side, would have done his coach proud with his words. “We didn’t find the I-League match (against Chennai) as difficult as the those in the World Cup,” he said. “In fact, we were quite comfortable.”That comfort may have accrued from scoring the first goal, according to a very happy De Matos. “It helped our mental framework, kept control of our emotions and it helped our boys show their good skills,” he said as he praised his team for good organization, displaying personality and fearlessness against Chennai in a 3-0 win.De Matos though grapples with injuries to three players -- Abhishek Halder, Namgyal Bhutia and Lalengmawia (all u-19 midfielders) -- but he still hopes for a full complement of 18 on Tuesday.He reflected on the composition of his team which has a smattering of u-19 players who he hoped would imbibe his methods and philosophy in good time.When queried, De Matos also made it a point to explain that notable absentee in the Arrows team, Komal Thatal who dazzled in India’s opener against the United States, opted to follow a different career path.“He’s not here because he didn’t want to be here. Not because the coach doesn’t want him,” De Matos affirmed. Minerva Punjab are also celebrating the exuberance of youth. With a 1-1 draw with Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan and a 2-1 win over debutants Neroca, coach Wangkhem Khogen Singh is keeping emotions under check.“Indian Arrows are a very good side and we know how dangerous they are on counter-attacks,” he said while praising two-goal hero against Chennai Aniket Jadhav for intelligence and enterprise.“We know we need to be good defensively against Arrows,” he added.Chencho Gyeltshen of Bhutan, who scored against Neroca, expressed respect for Indian Arrows but made it clear his team was in Goa to collect three points.A heavy ground and temperatures considerably higher than in Chandigarh won’t be insurmountable hurdles according to Khogen and Gyeltshen.With no injury concerns and an advantage of foreign players that Arrows, by design don’t have, Minerva Punjab at second spot in the table hope to boost their tally to seven from three games.