Real Kashmir star Mason Robertson mentioned Gokulam Kerala as the toughest opponent he has come up against…
In 2017, Scottish manager David Robertson took charge of the then I-League second-division club Real Kashmir and helped them clinch promotion to the top division. A year later, in the summer of 2018, he brought his son on board for the ambitious I-League project.
Mason Robertson, 25, has seldom missed the Snow Leopards‘ matches. He has started 31 games out of a possible 35. The versatile footballer, who left Scottish club Peterhead to come to Kashmir, has scored 10 goals in two seasons and has played as a defender, midfielder and a striker at the club. He’s quickly become the best player in the team.
“You know it’s been an incredible journey and being part of the club’s history is incredible. If I had to make the same choice to be here I would do it again,” Mason Robertson told Goal.
“Growing up as a striker and a winger. I loved to score. It wasn’t much of a change. I had been playing as a centre back for the last three years. So I’m used to switching positions and my main goal is to help the team as much as I can.”
While life on the field has been pretty much a cakewalk for a player of his stature, off-the-field issues have been difficult to deal with. Kashmir has remained tense in Mason’s two years in the region. The lockdown in the aftermath of the scrapping of Article 370 meant communication lines in and out of the region were cut off. And in terms of football, the club faced a struggle to host games at the TRC Turf Ground.
“We face obstacles every day. It’s been tough for all the players. All of these challenges brings us, the players and coaches, closer together and we get through these challenges as a family,” Robertson said.
The Scotsman mentioned that his toughest opponent was Gokulam Kerala.
“The team I found the most difficult (to play against) is Gokulam Kerala. They were very good going forward and caused us problems. My favourite in-game moment was beating Mohan Bagan and scoring 2 goals.”
Mason doesn’t know what the future has in store for him but he’ll be happy if it’s in Kashmir.
“My future with Real Kashmir – I don’t know yet. I need to wait till the summer but I’m happy here.”
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