U15 Youth League: Leaders Pune FC look to maintain winning run; face bottom-placed Kenkre FC

For top-placed Pune FC (9 points), this Maharashtra Zone Round-4 encounter against bottom-placed Kenkre FC, who are yet to open their account, provides an opportunity to strengthen their hold at the top of the standings.

Speaking on the eve of the clash, Pune FC Coach Mohan Dass said, “We have been working hard during the past week and are well prepared for this game. The team is gelling well now and we hope to give our best against Kenkre FC.”

Going into the game, Pune FC is banking on their frontline to fire once again with five players having already netted 19 goals in three games so far, the highest among all teams across the country. On the other hand, the defense too has been strong conceding just once and hopes to maintain the same on Friday.

However, despite boasting a good record, Coach Mohan Dass wants his team to stay focussed on the job at hand and not take Kenkre FC lightly. “Kenkre won’t be an easy opponent even though they are at the bottom of the table. They will be looking for points as it is their home game and will pose a threat. We want to avoid complacency and need to follow our plan to get the best result,” he added.

On the team news front, Pune FC have drafted in goalkeeper Nikhil Durga into the matchday squad as Deepak Saravanan serves a one match suspension for a sending off in the previous game. While there are no injuries to deal with, a couple more changes are expected considering the need to rotate the squad.

The match will be played under floodlights and kicks off at 6.30 PM IST on Friday.