Indian Arrows Face Churchill Brothers in I-League 'home' Match in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, Dec 29 (PTI) A victory in their previous match boosting their confidence, Indian Arrows would look for a win against Churchill Brothers in their first I-League match at the multipurpose Kalinga Stadium here Sunday.

The young Arrows side coached by Floyd Pinto has adopted Odisha as their home this season. They were playing their home games of this season's campaign at Cuttack's Barabati Stadium till now.

Sunday's match will be the Arrow's first match at the multipurpose Kalinga Stadium which also hosts track and field events.

The match will be crucial for Churchill also, given they have not done well in the last couple of matches after being quite impressive initially.

While Churchill go into the game on the back of two consecutive defeats, the Arrows -- the AIFF's developmental side -- have picked up four points in their last two matches and will be looking to sustain the momentum.

"We are not happy with our performance. We have lost two matches but we hope to win tomorrow. Indian Arrows is a young team but we should not take any team lightly," Churchill's Romanian coach Petra Gigiu said at the match-eve press conference.

However, Gigiu knows that if his attacking duo of Dawda Cessay and Willis Plaza -- the league's top goal scorer -- are on song, Arrows can be rolled over and he will do well to charge them up sufficiently for Sunday's game.

Arrows have had huge problems scoring goals and Floyd Pinto will have to find a way to get his team to score many more than the three they have so far, to nurture bigger hopes.

"Judging how the season has gone, I think we are in the best mood, because we got four points in the last two games. We hope to continue the same performance against Churchill, who are probably one of the best attacking sides in the league," Pinto said.

"They have the top goal scorer in the league. To keep them quiet and get another clean sheet will be an achievement for us," he said.

They will not get a better opportunity to do well against Churchill given their defensive formation is severely depleted due to injuries and suspension.

The Arrows were gradually hitting the right chords and Pinto seemed to have settled down with some of his experimentation in the beginning.

In Deepak Tangri, Pinto has a resolute defensive midfielder, whereas he has Anwar Ali at the back, who can organise and marshal the defence.

The two back-to-back clean sheets will boost the confidence of his back-line and it is time that they concentrate on becoming more clinical in front of the opposition goal.

For Churchill to have any hopes of a shot at the title, Sunday is a must win game.

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