AGENCIES
MARGAO: Salgaocar FC have gathered seven points from their three home matches so far, with two wins and a draw. In what would be their first game away from Goa, coach Derrick Pereira hopes for a bright start when they face Mumbai FC, at Balewadi Sports Complex, here, on Friday.
The Green and Whites defeated Churchill Brothers SC 1-0 in match day one, beat Mohammedan Sporting 3-0 thereon, while they were held to a 1-1 draw by Dempo SC in their last encounter.
“God-willing we will get good results in away matches. We are playing our first away match and that too on a grass pitch. Hopefully there won’t be any problems regarding getting adjusted to the pitch,” Pereira told Goal.
The 51-year-old feels that there has been progress from the time he took over the reins at Salgaocar this summer and praised the attitude of the players.
“Off the field also, I see the players gelling well. They are getting to know each other very well. That is also very important. And I’ve also seen their attitude has been positive.”
Augustin Fernandes remains a doubtful starter for the Goan club after injuring himself against Dempo SC.
“We trained on the Pune FC pitch and the boys are looking good. The niggles also are getting better, except for Augustin [Fernandes]. We have brought him here to get fit as soon as possible,” he mentioned.
Both Mumbai and Salgaocar have remained unbeaten so far. But the Goans share the second position with Pune FC, while Mumbai are on fifth position though only one point separate the two.
Mumbai FC, however, have played one game more than Salgaocar, putting them in a must-win situation if they intend to stay among the top teams. The Round 5 clash on Friday will be crucial in terms of separating the top rung teams from the strugglers early in the season.
There is no less support for Mumbai FC at their adopted home of three years and all thanks to two Afghani players — Haroon Fakhruddin Amiri and Sandjar Ahmadi — who are attracting a big chuck of students from the war-ravaged nation to the football field.
Not just their presence, the two have contributed immensely to their team’s performance. While Amiri enjoys being playmaker, Ahmadi promptly showed that he was worth a buy by scoring is his debut match at home on the Balewadi Sports Complex.
Even though Mumbai FC have remained unbeaten, Jamil is well aware that they haven’t had good outings against Salgaocar stretching back to two seasons. On all occasions, both at home and away, the Goan side had won 1-0 against Mumbai FC.
The statistics may not count much given that both the teams have changed over time, but for a coach losses will always remain at the back of their minds.
Jamil has done well no doubt, but he will have to inspire his team to get on the scoring board before the opposition does that.
In all the three draws, Mumbai FC had to make rally, which they did brilliantly no less, but if a home win is what one is looking at then Mumbai will have to score first and put the opposition on the defensive.
