LUDHIANA (India): Punjab FC maintained their winning run at home by beating Indian Arrows 1-0 in the I-League here at Guru Nanak Stadium on Monday.
Dipanda Dicka came off the bench to score the only goal in the 80th minute.
Buoyed by their win over defending champions Chennai City, Punjab started the match on a confident note.
The hosts cashed in on the home advantage and experience as coach Yan Law made a couple of adjustments to his lineup.
Liberian international Teah Dennis starting at the back while Yumnam Mangang made his first start.
Captain Anwar Ali was benched with Sanju Pradhan donning the captain’s armband in his absence.
At the other end, Shanmugam Venkatesh continued to show faith in his young players.
Despite being without a win, Venkatesh retained the majority of his previous line-up — Hendry Antony was given the nod to start, with Ajin Tom replacing the former while Suraj Rawat started up front alongside Harmanpreet Singh and Aman Chetri.
Chennai City face Aizawl
Aizawl is all set to host its first-ever I-League match under floodlights as they hosts defending champions Chennai City FC on Tuesday.
Aizawl is coming on the back of much-needed match practice as they have also participated in the Mizoram premier league.
“Many young talented players were promoted to the senior team from our academy side. It’s very difficult to change the squad for every match. I’ve kept the same squad with two new foreigners were put into the mix against Neroca FC and Indian Arrows,” said Aizawl coach Stanley Rozario.
The north east side played the semifinal and final of the match at the same venue, and won the league which will boost their confidence against Chennai.
“The match against Punjab FC gave us another dimension as to how we should approach our game. We are looking to put a strong put forward against Aizawl tomorrow,” said Chennai City coach Akbar Nawas.
