Internet Desk: In what is a ‘must-win’ game for Kingfisher East Bengal and ‘must-not-lose’ match for Churchill Brothers FC Goa, the round 3 fixture of the I-League sets itself up as a tasty encounter.
With the likes of Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC having set the pace with back to back victories, Red & Golds are hoping that they can pick all three points from this tricky away fixture and stay in the hunt.
“I think at the moment, all of our games are must win games, if we want to be challenging for the title.
We are certainly trying and we are prepared to win the game. We’ve got some more firepower than we had in our first game. In the game against DSK (Shivajians), I thought we looked pretty good going forward,” Trevor Morgan said ahead of the crucial fixture.
Meanwhile, Churchill Brothers are a highly motivated lot themselves after suffering defeats in their first two matches despite playing some good football.
“Of course it is a must-not-lose match for us. We have to come out with at least a point or maximum points. In the last two matches, I was not disappointed with the performance but even if we did not win the matches, at least we could have come home with a point,” coach Alfred Fernandes said.
“Well, (we are expecting) a very difficult match. After all, they were excellent against Mohun Bagan and very unfortunate not to get anything. They conceded very late on against Mumbai FC so that leaves no point and they’ll be desperate to get some points on the board. So we can’t expect anything less than a very difficult game,” Trevor Morgan said.
The team will be bolstered by the addition of a new Kyrgyzstan player Ildar Amirov but the red and gold brigade may have to wait to see the best of their new foreign recruit.
“We’ve added Ildar Amirov to our team who is the fourth foreigner. He’s just left minus 15 degrees to come to Goa and I think it might take him a little bit of time to get accustomed. But it looks like the squad is complete now,” the coach added.
The likes of Arnab Mondal, Cavin Lobo and Robert Lalthlamuana who are nursing injuries have stayed back in Kolkata but the rest of the squad who travelled to Goa are available for selection.
Meanwhile, Alfred Fernandes will be sweating over the fitness of defender Adil Khan and star man Brandon Fernandes who are both carrying slight niggles from the game against Mumbai FC.
The team is also hoping that the new arrivals Fulganco Cardozo and Richard Costa could play a part in this match.
“To sum up our first two matches, in both the games, the man of the match award was given to our players, which shows that we have been playing good. But only thing is that we have not been able to finish off matches and there have been a lapse in concentration,” the coach suggested.
“Basically, I’m looking for my strikers to score goals. Being his first match in a while, he can take some time to adjust. Maybe there was a little of rustiness but slowly, he will come into his groove. Hopefully, by tomorrow we can get the goals from him,” the coach added.
It might be a great opportunity for the local players like Romeo Fernandes and Rowllin Borges to snatch the show in their familiar territory, but Trevor said, “For me, playing Goan players is not the priority, but grabbing three points is.”
The Red & Golds are currently fourth in the table on four points behind Bengaluru FC, Mohun Bagan and Mumbai FC while Churchill Brothers are eighth without any points on board.