Kolkata: ‘Battle of Titans’ on the cards as Kingfisher East Bengal is all set to play probably the most crucial game of the Calcutta Football League 2017 against Subhash Bhowmick’s SVF Tollygunge Agragami on Tuesday. A win in that game is going to be a ‘must one’ for Khalid Jamil’s Red and Gold brigade, as they are now tied on points with Mohun Bagan and that has made the battle to win the title, a more intriguing one. A slip in this game can derail East Bengal’s hopes to win their record 8th CFL title.
Today, East Bengal coach Khalid Jamil too expressed his concerns after the training, as he said, “They are a competitive side. I have seen one of their games and trust me, it won’t be an east task for us to beat them.”
East Bengal won’t get the service of Samad Ali Mullick on the right full-back position due to suspension and that is forcing Khalid to make a change in that area. Out of form Arnab Mondal too might get replaced by Gurwinder Singh. Nikhil Poojary will be another one, who might make it to the first XI to replace Joby Justin on the right wing.
Khalid seemed to have huge respect for his opposition coach Subhash Bhowmick, as he said, “He is one of the best coaches in India. I have huge respect for him.”
On the flip side Subhash Bhowmick is in serious trouble as he won’t be getting the service of his ace Caribbean forward Anthony Wolfe. Bhowmick said, “I don’t know why Wolfe is not coming to the training. The officials might answer that. The only thing which I can say about East Bengal is that, they are tigers. I mentioned that Mohun Bagan are lions, and trust me, you will still get chances against the lions to escape, but it’s very difficult to do that against a tiger, especially if they are ‘injured’ of wasting points in the previous game.”
Bhowmick didn’t waste the opportunity to pinch the East Bengal gaffer, as he said, “Khalid is basically very naughty by nature. He continuously disturbs and excites the players by shouting from the dugout. I also shout from the dugout but Khalid’s one is different. But one thing I must say, he was a good player in his time and now he is doing really well as a coach.”
Bhowmick is giving positive certificate to Mahmoud Al Amna as well. After the training he said, “Al Amna is like Beto. After Beto, he has been the best foreign midfielder to have played in India.”