Super Cup Champions Kingfisher East Bengal look to get their first points of the I-League campaign when they face Prayag United tomorrow at the Yuva Bharati Krinaangan.
Prayag United have always been a tough hurdle to cross for East Bengal, and when asked about this Trevor Morgan said "The situation in each tournament is different and Prayag United are a good team but past form or head to heads don’t count as anything."
On the other hand Prayag United head Coach Sanjoy Sen said "we are not worried about our opponents. As a team we are only concerned with our own performance and if we play well we can give most teams a fight."
The Durand Cup finalists and Federation Cup semi finalists will hope to keep up the good form from the two tournaments into their first match of the I-League campaign in Kolkata.
For the Red and Gold Brigade Penn Orgi might sit out as Alan Gow seems to have recovered from injury and could start with Tolgay Ozbey. Sushanth Matthew is out from the match due to injury and the East Bengal will also be missing the services of Mehtab Hussain. Trevor Morgan said "It is not possible to find a replacement for a player like Mehtab but the midfield did play well in the 2nd half against Churchill Brothers SC. There is no reason for so much reaction and panic as the League is just one round old. There will be many twists and turns in the League and it’s just the start so we hope to get a good result from tomorrows match.”
With Prayag United having a good record against Kingfisher East Bengal in the past and their last meeting in the Federation Cup 2011 Semi Finals going into extra time there is a hot encounter on the cards tomorrow.
The Kick-off is slated for 3:30 PM.
Churchill Brother SC to face Air India
Churchill Brothers Sports Club are leaving nothing to chance despite playing a relatively weaker Air India in their second round I-League clash at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Saturday.
Churchill scored a morale-boosting solitary goal win over East Bengal in their own den while Air India were left humiliated by Mumbai FC 1-4 in opening games. But while that would have been enough for Churchill to take the three points on offer for granted, coach Manuel Gomes believes otherwise.
“Air India is just as good as any other team in the competition. We give Air India the same respect that we would provide to East Bengal. There are no easy games at this level,” said the Portuguese coach.
Churchill Brothers are likely to field the same team that picked full points against East Bengal although the Portuguese coach will be hard-pressed for options due to the unavailability of Brazilian midfielder Roberto Mendes da Silva. Beto, as the midfielder is popularly known, is yet to recover from his injury.
“Tomorrow is our first home match and we should settle for nothing less than full points,” said Gomes, who was part of Portugal’s coaching staff at the 2002 World Cup.
Air India, though, are unlikely to nurse winning ambitions and should be more than happy with a point. Santosh Kashyap’s side lost 1-4 against Mumbai FC in the opening match and the coach is now ready to make amends.
“Things did not go our way in the opener. The defensive combination was also new but now we are ready,” said Kashyap.
“Churchill is among the strongest team in the competition and we are aware of the test that awaits us. We are ready for the challenge,” said Kashyap, who is almost certain to make a couple of changes particularly in defence.
