I-League: Royal Wahingdoh aim to earn full point against Bharat FC

Trailing table-toppers Mohun Bagan by two points, Royal Wahingdoh FC today said they aim to regain the lead when they host Bharat FC at the JN Stadium here on Saturday.

Shillong: Trailing table-toppers Mohun Bagan by two points, Royal Wahingdoh FC on Friday said they aim to regain the lead when they host Bharat FC at the JN Stadium here on Saturday.

Returning after a three weeks' break, the Royals are eager to pump in all to snatch three points to get lead.

"We are a much better side now in all aspects of the game and the morale of the team is very high. We are looking forward to a positive result tomorrow," Coach Santosh Kashyap told reporters here.

The team return to action after two away defeats against Mumbai FC and Pune FC.

The fourth placed Royals are eager to get back to winning ways even as they have beaten the eighth-placed Bharat FC in a Round 3 match in Pune earlier this year.

The proximity among teams in the standings also means that tomorrow's encounter will be a crucial one for both sides. A win may take RWFC back to the top of the standings while a loss is likely to see them drop further.

The Royals who made a dream start to their maiden season have not won a game since their victory over Sporting Clube de Goa at home but the results of the last two matches hardly reflected the side?s true nature at the moment.

Despite going down to Mumbai FC and Pune FC, the Royals looked the better side on the pitch in both the games. Against Pune they dominated almost the entire second half but failed to get the desired result.

Kashyap took heart from the brave and quality performances put up by his side despite being on the wrong side of the result.

"We played well in the last two matches, especially against Pune, but could not get the result in our favour, the break gave the players a chance to refresh themselves and also work on our mistakes," he said.

The RWFC coach also believed that his side?s victory over Bharat FC in their first encounter would not count much tomorrow as it was a new game and both the teams have improved since they met last time.

Reacting to a query on whether the proximity among teams in the points table would make him push his players harder to sustain themselves in the top half, Kashyap said that the players were well aware of their responsibilities and he did not want to put any pressure on them.

Meanwhile, Bharat FC coach Stuart Watkiss asserted that his side was a better lot now and he is pleased with the team's performances of late.

"The stats say that we are improving in every aspect, be it ball possession or successful passes, which means that we are going in the right direction," he said.

Stating that every game in the I-League is equally challenging, Watkiss showered praise on his Shillong rivals who according to him were excellent in their approach when they came to Pune.

Watkiss, however, looked forward to a good game between "two decent teams" tomorrow and hoped his team collected three points from the tie.

RWFC will miss out on the services of Lawma, Nadong Bhutia and Seityasen Singh while Bharat FC has an all-fit squad for tomorrow.