A new look Shillong Lajong FC will look to make the most of their home advantage and inexperience of Gokulam Kerala FC to grab three points when the two clash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Monday.
Lajong's assistant coach Alison Kharsyntiew told the media: "Gokulam is a new side in the I-League and we are sure they are going to give their 100% and a strong fight in their first ever I-League match.
"First game is always important for every club and we have faith in the players. As a team, we need to be confident and perform well. We will go all out for three points."
The Reds will be very much relying on the defensive duties of the experienced foreigner pair of South Korean Juho Oh and Equatorial Guinea's Lawrence Doe.
"We have two senior defenders, Juho and Doe. We also have our young dynamic defenders. All of them are good defenders," Alison said.
"But the defence will be stronger if they work together as a cohesive unit. If they can do
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that, then our defence will be strong," he added.
The new foreign signings Daniel Odafin will be employed with the task of commanding the midfield while strikers Aiman and Koffi will be expected to convert the chances created into goals.
Lajong's young guns from the Academy who have had the experience in playing I-League earlier, like Redeem Tlang, Samuel Lalmuanpuia, Shaibor Kharpan and Hardycliff Nongbri, will be entrusted with the task of making sure their team grabs all three points at home on Monday.
Gokulam, on the other hand, will hope to make a dream start in the new season of the league. They played friendly matches against a few Indian Super League teams and drew against Kerala Blasters.
At the training ground here, Gokulam Kerala FC Head Coach Bino George said, "It is very cold in Shillong and we are trying to acclimatise to the climate."
"We are expecting a tough game against Shillong Lajong but we are confident our boys will give a good fight."
--IANS
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