PANJIM: An upbeat Sporting Clube de Goa will take on the defending Hero I-League champions, Mohun Bagan at the Barasat Stadium, on Saturday. Kick off at 4.30 p.m.
While the Flaming Oranje went past Mumbai FC in a five-goal thriller last week, the Mariners were held to a 1-1 draw by Shillong Lajong at home.
Mateus Costa’s men had also orchestrated the first real upset of the season with their siege of the Bengaluru’s fortress.
Costa though urged caution and said that his team needs to be at their best against them whom he considers a formidable opponent.
Former Mohun Bagan front man, Odafa Okolie will spearhead the Sporting Clube attack while Densill Theobald is expected to return in the midfield. Syrian midfielder, Mahmud Al Amnah has not travelled to Kolkata while Arindam Bhattacharya is expected to start under the woodwork.
Sporting Clube are currently rooted at the fourth spot on the table with 11 points from seven outings while Mohun Bagan sit on the top of the table with 15 points from the similar number of matches.
“Tomorrows match is different. We won’t go by history or previous results.” said Sporting Clube Head Coach Mateus Costa.
“Mohun Bagan are a great side and they have performed well here as well as in Aisa. But we have a fairly balanced squad and we are here to prove a point too. We have been studying them for some time now and if we stick to our plan I think we can come out with something really positive,” he added.
When asked who is the most dangerous foreigner amongst the Bagan forwards (Glenn, Norde and Katsumi) Mateus felt that, “All three are combining well and can cause worries to some of the finest defense but like we have a plan and I am confident the boys can execute the same perfectly.”
When asked if Sporting Clube will go all out the gaffer said, “We want to move up the ladder so definitely three points is what we are here for but in matches like this even a point is not that bad.”
When quizzed about Odafa dropping deep, Costa said “We don’t want him to get stuck. We wanted him to get the movement as he is very dangerous on the move.”
Also answering about Odafa’s performance and impact on the team, Mateus stated that, “He is a match-winner and an asset to our team but football is a team game and we have a reliable squad around Odafa. We play as a unit and yes he is there at the helm of our attacks.”
Odafa said that he is gunning for all three points against his former team and would leave no stone unturned to raise his goal-scoring tally.
Injuries to Victorino, Marcus and Mahmoud have definitely left Mateus and company to do some soul searching. However, the fantastic form of Nicholas and Ganesh will be a plus for The Flaming Oranje. The late resurgence displayed by Glan against Mumbai FC has impressed the critics. Over all a lot will depend on how either defence can handle Odafa and Glenn.
Meanwhile, after the heroics in Bengaluru, Sanjoy Sen’s men wasted chances galore as they failed to garner full points against Shillong.
Cornell Glen cut a forlorn figure in the first half before being replaced by a lively Balwant Singh which ultimately led to Jeje Lalpekhlua scoring the equalizer.
Shankarlal Chakraborty attended the press conference for the Mariners in the absence of Sanjoy Sen who is unwell. Shankarlal was in all praise for the Goan outfit, “They deserve all the accolades for their heroic win against Bengaluru FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. They held their nerves and finally clinched another three points against Mumbai FC in their next game. We would push ourselves harder to clinch all three points tomorrow.”
Pronay Halder is expected to be back in midfield after being rested alongside Katsumi Yusa. Brandon Fernandes might replace Kean Lewis on the wings while Sony Norde is expected to reprise his role down the left.
Mohun Bagan will want to continue their unbeaten run at the top of the Hero I-League while Sporting Clube de Goa would want to live up to their reputation of being giant killers.
