Bhubaneswar, April 29 (IANS) Both Mumbai City FC and Jamshedpur FC bowed out of the Kalinga Super Cup at the semifinal stage in the preceding Super Cup, but this season presents them a chance to make the final for the first time ever when they face off at the Kalinga Stadium on Wednesday.
With both sides yet to concede a goal in the tournament so far, it will be fascinating to see who finally unlocks the other’s defence. And if neither can, there are always penalties to settle the scores.
Head coach Petr Kratky has the opportunity to take the Islanders to an Asian competition for the third time in the club’s history, and the anticipation is high in the dressing room.
“We’re very excited and very happy to get to the semifinals. We’ll go game by game and get ready for the next final, which is tomorrow. Our expectations are always the highest; we want to win every game, we want to finish as high as we can, so we are here to win and bring the trophy for the club and the fans,” said Kratky.
The 5-0 loss to Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) play-offs left a sour taste in the mouths of the Islanders, and the mission is now to erase that memory and create new ones in Bhubaneswar. Mumbai City have registered two clean sheet victories so far, beating Chennaiyin FC (4-0) and Inter Kashi (1-0).
“I was very happy after the first game in a tournament against Chennaiyin, a very good reaction to the loss against Bengaluru in the ISL play-offs. The group worked very hard after the game on the training pitch.
“I think it will be a very good game against Jamshedpur. They are a very strong team and have proved it with the way they finished the ISL season. They’re also doing well in the Super Cup. We will try to avoid allowing them to create chances. And then again, if the defence is good and we execute what we need to execute, I’ll feel very confident in the squad,” said the Czech manager.
Jamshedpur FC find themselves in the Kalinga Super Cup semi-final for the third time in a row. They lost 0-2 on both previous occasions to East Bengal (2024) and Bengaluru FC (2023). While the Men of Steel will count on being third-time lucky, head coach Khalid Jamil highlighted that they consider every tournament a new challenge.
“We never think like this (about the previous tournaments). If this is a new challenge in your game, you must think positively and try to get good positive results. We’re playing the semi-final. It is an important game. We are playing against a good team and must work hard to get a positive result,” said Jamil.
The Kalinga Super Cup title will also mean a first-ever appearance in Asia for Jamshedpur FC, who were only a step away from the AFC Champions League in 2023 when they lost the qualifying play-off to none other than Wednesday’s opponents, Mumbai City.
This time, Jamshedpur will carry a psychological edge into the game, having beaten the Islanders twice in the ISL this season. But Jamil reiterated that this will be a “totally different match” in a separate competition.
“Mumbai City have played well in their two games against Chennaiyin and Inter Kashi. They have quality players who play good attacking football,” Jamil said.
The Indian also commended his players for recovering from a mid-season slump and finishing the campaign strong, albeit their ISL journey ended in a narrow defeat to Mohun Bagan SG in the semi-finals.
“There were some bad results for us, especially in the middle of the season. But everybody rectified their mistakes. We have mature players. They know what to do in tough times. And I give all the credit to the boys. They work very hard. They play as a team,” he added.
Mumbai City FC vs Jamshedpur FC will take place at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar at 8:00 PM IST. It will be broadcast on the Star Sports network and live-streamed on Jio Hotstar.
–IANS
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