Chennaiyin FC U-15s set for Hero Junior League challenge

Chennai: The Chennaiyin FC Under-15 team will commence its 2018-19 Hero Junior League (formerly Hero U-15 Youth League) campaign with an away game against new entrants Great Goals at the Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar (SSN) College Ground here on Monday April 8, 2019 with kick-off at 4 PM.

The CFC U-15s’ will face three other teams home and away apart from Great Goals; namely Chennai City FC, Raman Vijayan Soccer School (RVSS) and FC Madras. In their debut season last year, the CFC U-15s’ won the Chennai zone with an unbeaten record comprising five wins and three draws. Following that, it was a learning experience in the final round against national opponents, as they bowed out at the group stage.

Under the tutelage of Head Coach Aldroy Atkinson a second consecutive season, majority of the CFC U-15 squad, akin to the U-13s and U-18s, is comprised of players from around Tamil Nadu. All but one of the 29-man U-15 squad hail from seven districts across the state – Chennai, Coimbatore, Dindigul, Karaikudi, Neyveli, Thanjavur and Tuticorin. Of these, ten boys have been promoted from last season’s CFC U-13 squad while five have been retained.

Two of the promoted boys from last season’s U-13 squad are the versatile Rahul Manjula and striker K. Suriya. Rahul was the U-13s’ captain in a memorable debut season last time out, winning the Chennai zone with a 100% record. K. Suriya also starred for them with a whopping 21 goals en route the final round. Both boys were called up to national camps, following impressive performances for the CFC U-13s. They will be aiming to replicate their form with the U-15s along with the other promoted talent.

“The U-15 boys are a fantastic mix of talent that comprises promoted (from the U-13s), retained and new players from around Tamil Nadu. It is a crucial stage of their development in which they need to keep their heads down and work hard. The U-18s had an impressive season reaching the quarter-finals of the Elite League final round while the U-13s have begun well in the Sub-Junior League Chennai zone. I expect our U-15 boys to do the same as we focus on holistic development across all our age-group teams,” said Syed Sabir Pasha, CFC’s Technical Director of Youth Development and First Team Assistant Coach.

Chennaiyin FC U-15s’ Full Squad:

Goalkeepers: Aron R. (Tuticorin), C.H.N. Amarishwar (Chennai), Muhammed Arshath (Coimbatore)

Defenders: Taufiq Ahamed (Coimbatore), Aravind Karthickeyan (Chennai), Manish Kumar (Chennai), N. Sivamani (Dindigul), S. Abilash (Coimbatore), P. Kuganeshwaran (Chennai), Syed Ashik (Neyveli), Manoj J. (Chennai), Caron Kennedy (Thanjavur), Harish Kumar (Chennai)

Midfielders: Rahul Manjula (Chennai), Sathish Kumar (Karaikudi), Deepak Thapamogar (Chennai), N. Suriya (Karaikudi), Harsha Vardhan R.S. (Coimbatore), Allen Rajkumar (Chennai), Naveen Kumar (Chennai), J. Vamsi Krishna (Chennai), Vignesh Kumar (Chennai)

Forwards: Kishore R.A. (Chennai), Yugan S. (Neyveli), V. Siddharth (Chennai), K. Suriya (Chennai), Mohamed Tharik (Chennai), Muhammed Adhnan (Kerala), Roshan R. (Coimbatore)

Head Coach: Aldroy Atkinson

Chennaiyin FC U-15s Hero Junior League 2018-19 Fixtures – Chennai Zone:

Great Goals vs Chennaiyin FC – 8th April 2019 – SSN College Ground
Chennaiyin FC vs Raman Vijayan Soccer School – 12th April 2019 – SSN College Ground
Chennaiyin FC vs FC Madras – 15th April 2019 – SSN College Ground
Chennaiyin FC vs Chennai City FC – 19th April 2019 – SSN College Ground
Chennaiyin FC vs Great Goals – 22nd April 2019 – SSN College Ground
FC Madras vs Chennaiyin FC – 28th April 2019 – FC Madras Arena, Thoraipakkam
Raman Vijayan Soccer School vs Chennaiyin FC – 1st May 2019 – TAFDC Ground
Chennai City FC vs Chennaiyin FC – 5th May 2019 – Chettinad School Ground, Kelambakkam