Kolkata, March 20 (SocialNews.XYZ) Not many would have predicted Tiddim Road Athletic Union (TRAU) FC to be challenging for the I-League title this season. A revelation in the I-League this season, Nandakumar's TRAU has been the perfect rhetoric to the question of what does it take to be a champion. In a nutshell, the Manipur-based side's answer could be: sheer determination.
A win against Churchill Brothers at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan Stadium on Sunday could potentially hand TRAU their first-ever I-League title, if Gokulam Kerala FC drops points later on Sunday when the Malabarians face Mohammedan SC.
The kick-off for TRAU's clash against the Red Machines is slated from 2pm IST.
TRAU's bloom in form came at the perfect timing when other teams in the title challenge fray saw a slump. With Churchill, Mohammedan, Real Kashmir all losing points in the championship stage, TRAU gained an advantage by winning all of their last five games, and are now on the cusp of lifting the trophy.
But the icing on TRAU's cake is undoubtedly Bidyashagar Singh. The nimble-footed forward has burst onto the scene scoring two successive hat-tricks, propelled by a stellar partnership with fellow forward Komron Tursunov. With 11 goals to his name, Bidyashagar's ability to convert half-chances could prove to be pivotal in Sunday's clash against Churchill.
"We never thought that we would be in this position to contest for the I-League title. We were always thinking about surviving relegation and then getting into the top six. Wherever we are right now is just the result of our hard work and determination," coach Nandakumar said at the official pre-match press conference.
"Honestly, we never thought we could be champions. We always took one match at a time and even tomorrow we will be playing to defeat Churchill, taking one match at a time, and not thinking about the championship. Churchill are a very good side and it will not be easy to play against them. We will be without the services of Komron [Tursunov] so that is a big blow for us as well," he said.
Perhaps TRAU would take inspiration from Aizawl FC's title win in the 2016-17 season when Khalid Jamil had led the people's club to their first-ever I-League title with Aizawl being the underdogs for much of the time that season.
"Absolutely! A lot of the boys have come up from local clubs where they did not even have the experience of playing in the Hero Second Division League. They are directly coming from the grassroots and almost all of them have heard Aizawl's story," Nandakumar pointed out.
"Everyone is eager to play in the squad and give their level best. We are ready to give more than cent percent tomorrow. We will try our level best to win the match," he said.
Defender Helder Lobato explained how the team is shaping up. "Not a lot of people believed in us, but we believed in ourselves and now we believe that we can be champions. We want to make our fans happy and although we never thought of winning the championship, we have a good chance of doing so."
Source: IANS
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