PANJIM: Having started the Goa Pro League strongly with seven wins and two draws, remaining undefeated in the process, The Green Brigade are raring to go against Indian Navy in the Group A tie of 127th Durand Cup, quarter-final league match, at Raia panchayat ground, on Thursday, at 3 p.m.
The third team in Group A is another Goan outfit, Tuff Laxmi Prasad SC, who secured a spot in the final round after having emerged through the qualifiers.
“It is always good to have a few wins under your belt at the start of the season. However, the first phase of the Goa Pro League is now a thing of the past and we are focussed solely on the Durand Cup. We need to start afresh,” cautioned coach Derrick Pereira to his players.
The nine rounds of the Goa Pro League played has given the gaffer a fair opportunity to try out various combinations given the fact that the club has made a few signings at the start of the season.
Salgaocar FC first annexed the Durand Cup in 1999, beating Kolkata giants East Bengal via a penalty shoot-out and in the process becoming the first Goan side to win the coveted trophy. They went on to repeat the feat in 2003, beating the very same opponents in much the same vein.
Coach Derrick Pereira knows only far too well the feeling and more importantly what it takes to win the Durand Cup, having won the tournament twice, once with the all-conquering Salgaocar squad of 1999 under Shabbir Ali, and then guiding Mahindra United to the Durand Cup triumph in 2007-08 as coach.
