Durand Cup: Chennaiyin FC looks to end campaign positively against Assam Rifles

JAMSHEDPUR: Chennaiyin FC will be aiming to end its Durand Cup 2024 campaign on a positive note against Assam Rifles FT at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur on Sunday.

The fresh-faced Marina Machans, who largely fielded a team of young Indian players, lost to Indian Army FT and Jamshedpur FC narrowly in their first two group matches, despite providing a gritty fight. Although Assam Rifles also lost its previous two games, assistant coach Noel Wilson is wary of the threat it poses.

“Assam Rifles are a good team, defensively strong. They have kept working despite losing their two previous games. They are a tough team but, with all due respect to them, we, as Chennaiyin FC, have to go on the field and play our game and do what we need to do to win the game,” Wilson said.

Vincy Barretto scored the team’s first goal in the competition against Jamshedpur FC with a scorching effort from a distance. The young Indian, along with the likes of Solaimalai R and Vishal R, has been one of Chennaiyin’s bright sparks in the Durand Cup, which, as per Wilson, has yielded plenty of positives.

“One of the positives has been to see the reserve team players trying to match the senior players. You watch the youngsters performing alongside the first-team players and you get a good feeling. Especially in the last match against Jamshedpur, I thought every player worked hard on the field. Every player fought,” Wilson remarked.

“That’s why I always tell the reserve players that they have to keep working hard and they have to keep proving, in training and during the match, that they have the quality to fit in the senior team. Even if two or three guys can go and do that, it is a great success.”

Now in its 133rd edition, the Durand Cup is Asia’s oldest club football competition and the traditional curtain raiser for the Indian domestic season.