I-league 2023-24: Mohammedan fly ahead on wings of consistency

New Delhi: With the I-League 2023-24 season almost at the halfway point, teams will go into the winter break, which will be followed by the Kalinga Super Cup, with contrasting feelings.

While some like table-topper Mohammedan Sporting Mohammedan Sporting would have liked to carry on with the momentum they had gained in recent weeks, others like NEROCA FC and TRAU FC would welcome such a pause to look inward and find the answers to their respective questions.

They will be that their fortunes will change for the better when the league action finally ensues next year.

Since their promotion back to the I-League in 2020-21, Mohammedan Sporting have shown flashes of brilliance but lacked consistency. They seem to have struck the correct chords this season, however, the symphony presented itself in the form of a seven-point lead at the top of the table at the winter break.

Andrey Chernyshov’s men have been on rampant form and have shown the knack of getting the desired results, which is amply evident from their eight victories, three draws, and zero losses from 11 matches in this I-League campaign. Their 2-1 win against NEROCA in the last I-League match of the year, showed how much control Mohammedan are exerting over their opponents.

Both Sreenidi Deccan and Real Kashmir have fancied themselves to be championship contenders for more than a few seasons now. However, much like Mohammedan in the past seasons, they seem to be missing the magic ingredient – consistency.

Both clubs could have been behind Mohammedan Sporting by only four points by the winter break, but both lost their respective last matches of the year, against struggling teams -– Sreenidi fell 1-4 to Gokulam at home, while Real Kashmir suffered a 0-1 away defeat against Delhi FC.

While Sreenidi have done well against most mid and lower-table teams, they have struggled against the likes of Mohammedan Sporting (1-2), and Aizawl FC (1-2), their recent 1-4 defeat at home against a struggling Gokulam Kerala would point to deeper troubles, which they will need to fix through the winter break.

For Real Kashmir, however, it has been a question of inconsistency. Their three defeats have come against teams in the bottom half of the table, despite having some decent results against the stronger opponents.

Teams from the Northeast should perhaps not be called surprise packages, given that several top Indian players come from that region. However, clubs like Shillong Lajong and Aizawl FC have their resources stretched thin and often have to make do with inexperienced youngsters. Though they rely on a model of bringing young players through their systems, newly promoted Lajong, and former champions Aizawl have been right on the money this season.

Aizawl will not be happy to close the year with consecutive draws in home matches against mid-table sides like Gokulam Kerala and Inter Kashi (both 1-1). They could have been challenging for the title once again, but they are now eight points adrift.

Shillong Lajong, on the other hand, have had their fairy tale start to the I-League campaign curtailed after their recent losses against Aizawl (0-3) at home and Real Kashmir (1-3) away. However, a 3-0 victory over relegation strugglers Namdhari FC will give them some much-needed confidence boost as they head into the break.

Only a couple of years ago, Gokulam Kerala were considered to be one of the more ferocious teams in the I-League, after they won back-to-back titles in the 2020-21, and 2021-22 seasons. However, the Malabarians have experienced quite the slump since then and now find themselves 10 points adrift from top dogs Mohammedan Sporting.

There is hope yet for the Malabarians, as the silver lining peeks over the dark wintry clouds. They have shown that they can beat the best in the league, and a 4-1 victory against Sreenidi Deccan away from home will go a long way to boost their confidence ahead of Christmas.

Balancing out the performance of Lajong and Aizawl are two other clubs from the Northeast – both from Imphal. Both NEROCA FC and TRAU FC are in trouble.

NEROCA were under no illusions when they squared up against Mohammedan Sporting on Christmas Eve, and the result was as expected, with the Black and White Brigade running away with the three points. NEROCA managed to lodge only one shot on target, which mercifully came in the form of their consolation goal.

TRAU, on the other hand, have shown more of a fight in their last three matches. They lodged their only win of the season so far in the form of a 3-0 drubbing of Inter Kashi earlier this month, before putting up fighting performances against Namdhari (1-2) and Rajasthan United (4-5). However, much like their rivals from across town, the Red Pythons also need to find solutions during the January transfer window, or potentially see their ship go down.