Amma FC take on mighty Footie First today

 

Principal Correspondent

 

WITH a convincing win in their opener, Amma FC, Nagpur would look to stunning formidable Footie First Football Club, Mumbai in their second league encounter of India Football League Qualifiers match of Maharashtra Zone’s Women’s Football League at Cooperage Ground in Mumbai on Saturday.

Their opener was a cakewalk against Next Sports Academy, Palghar whom they thrashed by five goals to nil on Thursday.

However, to keep their winning run intact, Nagpur girls, led by midfielder Sunita Yadav, will have to be on their toes for 90 minutes of play.

Footie First have recorded the biggest win of the tournament so far when they drubbed Pacangan Football Club, Satara 14-0 in their first outing.

The Mumbai Women’s League champions Footie First have a strong line-up with Jyoti leading from the front. The forward has scored nine goals in their opening encounter and would be eager to keep her good show going.

Amma FC defenders will have to be more vigil on the defence line.

Rakshanda Amle Kiran Jadhav, Nazah Mistry and Vinita Bhalavi will have to mark Jyoti along with Mamta Kumari, Priyanka Gurung and Amrapali Jadhav.

A lot would depend on Nagpur’s midfielders comprising Rakshanda Sonekar and captain Sunita to play as the link between the forward line and defence.

Coach Annie Paul had said that the team had missed bagful of chances in the opener which has irked her. “We could have won by a much bigger margin had we not missed sitters. This has to be changed in the coming matches,” Annie had told ‘The Hitavada’.

Nagpur will have to rectify their mistakes of missing out on easy chances in their first match. Forwards Annie Anthony, Cristal Gomes, Sonekar, Nikita Shende will have to grab the opportunities and try to take early lead.

It would be important for Amma FC to play a well combined game. Though they hardly had any combined practice in Nagpur due to coronavirus restrictions, they have played one match and had a good training session on Friday at the Cooperage ground. This would help them in adjusting themselves and prepare for a tough fight on Saturday.

“I am sure the players would give a tough fight to Footie First,” said Annie on Friday. “They should play without any pressure. This is only their second game and there are many more games to play,” she added.