The battle for the two I-League elite division spots will resume on Monday with ONGC taking on Aizwal FC and United Sikkim FC meeting Vasco SC in the opening matches of the final league phase of the second division I-League at Siliguri, in north Bengal.
The final phase will to be played in two legs at two separate venues — the second being the Sikkim capital Gangtok — with seven teams in contention.
With the inaugural National Football League (former name of I-League) champion JCT Mills Phagwara having disbanded the side after its relegation from the elite stage last season, ONGC remains the only seeded side in the final stage.
ONGC coached by Caetano Pinho will be trying to put its best having done a three-week conditioning camp at Goa before reaching Siliguri.
The other six teams — Mohammedan Sporting, Kalighat MS (both from Bengal), Royal Wahingdoh (Meghalaya), United Sikkim, Vasco SC (Goa), Aizwal FC (Mizoram) — have graduated from the prolonged qualifying phase and will be banking on the sufficient match-practise they have gained so far. The Siliguri phase will conclude on March 25 while the Gangtok phase will start on March 29 and conclude on April 17, according to fixtures released by the All India Football Federation.
