It’s safe to say I am unhappy, here was me, thinking the ISL season was over and I’d have a few easy months until the new season started. Well, I was wrong, Jake notified me of this Super Cup competition and how I will have to preview all the games. The holiday to the Canary Islands has been canceled, not happy. Jokes aside, I am looking forward to the competition as it will hold some bragging rights to it for the two leagues in India and hopefully an ISL side will come out on top.
Before we get into the proper tournament, we have to go through a qualification stage. This stage puts the four worst sides in each of the leagues against each other in a one-off knockout game. Unfortunately, or maybe not, Delhi and Churchill Brothers are the first teams up as they fight for a place in the next round, against I-League side Mohun Bagan.
The Stats…
Delhi are the hosts, so I will start with them. They managed to rally together in 2018 and secure 8th place in the league, which was just short of a miracle as they looked doomed before that. Thanks to the heroics of Kalu Uche, they managed to score twenty-seven goals, over the course of the season. However, their defensive record was the worst in the league, conceding a heavy amount, thirty-seven to be exact. Delhi finished the league in style, by going six games unbeaten and I am sure they will not want to give that up anytime soon.
Churchill Brothers, who are the visitors for this game, didn’t have the greatest of seasons last season as they finished 9th and two points above the relegation spot. It seemed they were struggling to score goals, as they only managed seventeen over the season. Their defensive record was the worst in the league as they conceded twenty-eight goals in total. Weirdly, they are without a win in six games, the same amount as Delhi’s unbeaten streak. Will they be the ones to stop Delhi?
Key Player…
Now, I am not going to say I know everything there is about any of the I-League teams, however, I have done some research and I feel I can identify some useful players. One player that stood out to me from Churchill Brothers was Monday Osagie. He seems to pop up with a few goals. Another who seemed to appear quite a bit was Koffi Mechac. Both these players may cause issues for Delhi.
Delhi have been fantastic as of late, especially a certain player who regular readers will know is a favourite of mine. It is still unclear if the squads for the competition will be identical to the ISL squads. However, I am going to say they will be and Uche will be playing, which is why he is my Key Player. The man has just been on fire and I just hope the break hasn’t affected him too much.
Prediction…
Unfortunately, because the two sides are from different leagues, they haven’t met before so I can’t do the usual ‘Previous Encounter’ section. I feel as though Delhi may have been affected by the break and may suffer from it. I am sure Delhi will be relying on Uche to carry on his form and score a couple of goals. Don’t think you are getting out of my signature ending, get ready.
With all this being said, I will simply leave you with this. Personally, I am going to stick with my loyalty to the ISL and say Delhi will win 2-1. I think Uche will still be on fire and out of the two teams, it seems the I-League team have had the worst season. Although it is a cup competition and teams perform differently, so they could surprise us.
