XtraTime Web Desk: Mohun Bagan is all set to take on West Bengal Police in their sixth match of the Calcutta Football League 2018 at their own backyard on Saturday and they will not remain content with the mere three points. They will look to pump in as many goals as possible since they have to bridge the gap with table-toppers East Bengal in the goal difference column. The Kolkata giants are tied on points at the top of the pack but a healthier goal difference sees the Red and Golds ahead of their arch-rivals. But the Green and Maroon brigade will miss two of their key players in the game.
Bagan will be looking to fire on all cylinders with a fit-again Henry Kisekka and Aser Pierrick Dipanda on top. The fact that Police have already shipped in eight goals in four matches testifies that their backline falters under pressure. Now the Maroon and Green strikers must shed their profligacy in front of goal and make the best of the opportunity.
Coach Sankar Lal Chakraborty also did not mince words while making it clear that his team is looking for more than just the three points.
“We would definitely like to score more goals tomorrow. For that, we have to minimise wasting chances. Most of our strikers are misfiring. We have to take the scoring opportunities. We are entering a crucial stage of the league and cannot take any match lightly,” stated Chakraborty.
There will be a make-shift defence in tomorrow’s match as Eze Kingsley and Arijit Bagui will be serving a one-match suspension after picking up two yellow cards in the tournament. Gurjinder Kumar and Amey Ranawade are the front-runners to replace the two defenders.
“Gurjinder has played as a back three in two matches. And when we got to know of Sukhdev’s unavailability we told him that he might be required to play on various positions in defence. So that won’t be a problem,” assured the coach.
Both Bagui and Kingsley chose to spend time with physical trainer Samiran Nag instead of joining the rest of the squad. Abinash Ruidas has joined training but is yet to attain match fitness. Meanwhile, Tirthankar Sarkar has been sidelined for tomorrow’s fixture with a nose injury.