AGENCIES
PUNE: Air India coach Anthony Fernandes would want to forget that moment of lapse which cost his team dearly against Sporting Clube de Goa this Sunday, as they get ready to face another Goan team, the airmen are eager to reverse the trend on Tuesday.
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Just a week ago, Air India returned from Goa with a humiliating 0-4 loss to Salgaocar. So, facing the same team in so less time is surely a dampener but the airmen look to have found their footings on the ‘home’ ground.
As Air India await an otherwise under-performing Salgaocar, who are placed two rungs below them, the round XV match of I-League football should be a humdinger no doubt.
Air India are on ninth position with 12 points while Salgaocar are at 11th with 10 points, and an outright win for either team will shake the positions on the table.
In the last match, Elijah Junior had taken advantage soon after Sporting Clube were reduced to 10 men, but on the morrow Salgaocar will be a different proposition altogether given that they have beaten Air India handsomely at home on December 30.
In head-to-head too, it has been more than a year that Air India scored a win against their Goan counterparts. The only solace for Air India is that they haven’t lost on the Balewadi ground to Salgaocar, once beating them 3-1 and drawing 1-1 way back in February 2011.
Micky Fernandes and Henry Ezeh will be the key to Air India’s strategy. Fernandes particularly has been more threatening of the midfielders. Henry has been up to the mark, while Elijah has always been there to grab loose balls.
In defence, John Dias and Gagandeep Singh have held their fort together shielding goalkeeper Jagroop Singh for quite a number of times. But for that lapse when Victorino Fernandes scored in the second minute of injury time, Jagroop guarded the post well and he should make the start again on Tuesday.
Salgaocar coach David Booth, on the other hand, would like to get his team on the winning note after a topsy-turvy run so far in the league. In the last five matches, Salgaocar have lost three and won just one against Air India and drawn one.
There is no cure for the feeling of loss as Booth and Salgaocar players will know. After beating Air India 4-0, they were thrashed 1-4 at home by East Bengal, something that the Goans would like to forget and get on with the campaign.
The kick-off is at 7 p.m.
