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Mohun Bagan Super Giant kick off their Durand Cup campaign with Kolkata Derby against Mohammedan Sporting Club.
Durand Cup: Mohun Bagan SG take on Mohammedan. (X, Durand Cup)
Mohun Bagan Super Giant kick off their Durand Cup campaign underway in the 134th edition of Asia’s oldest football tournament against city rivals Mohammedan Sporting Club in the second Kolkata derby of group B at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Thursday.
Unlike other Indian Super League sides, who don’t exactly have top-division football to look forward to yet, Mohun Bagan have AFC Champions League 2 come September. After the impasse over participation, the Mariners joined forces recently and will be without their foreign imports along with head coach Jose Molina, who flew into the city in the early morning. Foreigners will join the squad in the second week of August, just in time for the knockouts if they qualify.
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In the interim, assistant coach Bastab Roy has the reins and has at his disposal a neat-full-strength Indian squad., most of whom will be available for the first game of the season. Most stars have been training for just over a week and should be ready to play some part in the game – like Ashish Rai, Manvir Singh, Liston Colaco, Deepak Tangri, Apuia, Abhishek Suryavanshi, Anirudh Thapa, Glan Martins, and Vishal Kaith, who will donning the captain’s armband, as Subhasish Bose regains match fitness.
New signing Tekcham Abhishek Singh, may get his debut too in Green and Maroon. In the absence of foreign strikers, youngsters Suhail Bhat and Kiyan Nassiri are likely to lead the frontline along with new sensation Pasang Dorjee Tamang, who hails from the highland of Bengal.
Bastab Roy, though, is not getting complacent.
“A key feature of Mohammedan SC is that they are a young team and they don’t depend on any individuals and play as a team,” Bastab was quoted as saying during a press conference on Wednesday.
“They have already played a game while we are going to play our first one. From that standpoint, we need to work harder to win the match. It’s not going to be easy.”
Goalkeeper Kaith echoed his coach’s sentiments, saying: “They (Mohammedan SC) have already played, so their fitness level will be better. No, we can’t take the match as an easy one.”
“The Durand Cup format is such that only the group winner and two second-best teams will advance to the quarterfinals. So, one loss may jeopardise your chances,” Bastab added.
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Mohammedan SC, meanwhile, will smarting from their 1-2 loss to lower-division side Diamond Harbour FC in their opening group game. Without any star Indian names or foreign recruits, the upcoming game may again just prove too big a challenge.
The Black Panthers boss Mehrajuddin Wadoo is not too flustered but has emphasised his young side’s need or resilience and teamwork.
“I’m happy with the way the young players are giving their best. Results may not be in our control. The way we conceded the goal (against DHFC) in the last minute was extremely unfortunate and luck was also not on our side. But we’ve to accept this and move on,” Mehrajuddin was quoted as saying.
“Against Mohun Bagan, we’ll try to minimise the mistakes we made (against DHFC) and give them a fight,” he added.
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket content, ha…Read More
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket content, ha… Read More
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