I-League: NEROCA, TRAU hope to find form in second Imphal derby of season

Imphal (Manipur) [India], January 17 : When NEROCA and TRAU met each other in I-League in December last year, there was an uncanny similarity in how their seasons were unfolding. Both teams were sitting at the bottom half of the table, staring at relegation.
However, the turn of the year has brought a turnaround in fortune, for one of them at least. Turning things around in style, the Red Pythons have won back-to-back games and risen to third on the table, going from fighting to avoid relegation to being title hopefuls in the space of a few weeks.
NEROCA, meanwhile, remain second-last in the standings, with their last win against Mumbai Kenkre FC in November.
Bursting with new belief, TRAU will go into the Imphal derby full of confidence, having handed defending champions Gokulam Kerala their first home defeat of the season in their last clash. NEROCA, meanwhile, know the value of points having picked up a vital one from a goalless stalemate against Churchill Brothers in Goa.
The last time these sides met, TRAU scored a dramatic last-minute winner in a comeback win, grabbing three points in what was an evenly contested tie. While TRAU go into this encounter as favourites, they will know better than to bank on reputation. In this game, the only guarantee is that of goals -- the last seven Imphal derbies have seen at least two goals scored.
At a pre-match press conference, NEROCA FC head coach Khogen Singh expressed confidence that derby will bring the best out of his players. "It is a derby and our home match. So we will have plenty of home support to count on," he said, as quoted by an I-League press release.
"I am sure the boys will give their best out there," he added.
Singh said despite his side's recent run of form, the dressing room atmosphere remained positive and the players were motivated to get the better of their city rivals.
TRAU FC head coach Nandakumar Singh was full of praise for a young NEROCA side and the local talent they had within their ranks. "It is always tough to play against them," he said, adding, "Their local boys are really talented and it will be a very competitive game," he added.
The match between NEROCA and TRAU will be broadcast live on Eurosport and Doordarshan Sports and streamed live on the Discovery Plus OTT platform.