The iconic Cooperage Football Stadium will be hosting its first ever U-19 I-League match as Kenkre FC U-19 prepare to face the Mumbai FC U-19 team on Saturday at 17.15 IST.

Mumbai FC come into the match on the back of a disappointing 0-3 defeat against Pune FC. The coach and the players of Mumbai would surely want to make amends by winning the match against Kenkre and build momentum from there on.

“I felt we played quite well against Pune.” said Mumbai’s U-19 head coach Abdul Siddique. “We were a bit unlucky on the first two goals we conceded. After Girik got a red card early into the game it was very difficult for us to get back. It was always going to be difficult ten versus eleven.”

With Girik Khosla suspended, the coach would’ve to elect a new captain for the team against Kenkre. “I haven’t decided on who will be the captain. Yes, there are a few players in the squad that can lead the team really well. We have Prince (Anandraj), Ramakant (Pawar) and Nishant (Shetty) who have great potential and have good command of the team both on and off the field. I will decide on matchday.”

He added, “We have been working on a lot of strategies in the past week and I am sure the boys will perform well. They have been putting a lot of effort in training.”