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[caption id="attachment_5360" align="alignnone" width="580"] Mohun Bagan desperate to reach the final of Federation Cup. File Pic[/caption] Kolkata: Mohun Bagan coach Sanjay Sen has sparked a small controversy ahead of its Federation Cup semi final leg 1 clash against Shillong Lajong. Sanjoy Sen, who has failed to win a single derby this season has commented that the team from North East is better than East Bengal. Former Hero I-League Champions will clash swords against Shillong Lajong in the Semi-finals of the Hero Federation Cup at the Barasat Stadium on Sunday. While the Mariners ran out 7-2 aggregate winners over Salgaocar in the last round, Lajong needed extra time to book their berth, winning 4-3 on aggregate against another Kolkata outfit East Bengal. The return of Sony Norde certainly gave a new dimension to the Mohun Bagan side, which cruised to a thumping victory in their last round at home and, the Haitian is expected to line up alongside Katsumi Yusa on either wings as Mohun Bagan would look to their winning streak in the Hero Federation Cup. Another good news for the Mariners is both Cornell Glen and Pronoy Halder are available for selection. Both had slight injuries but are completely fit now. Glen, who had a groin injury, was not in the playing eleven against Salgaocar. But the Trinidadian will be making a return against his former club. Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Mohun Bagan’s head coach Sanjoy Sen said, "The Federation Cup semi-final is obviously a big match. We will obviously play to win. I don't think there is much of a difference between home and away” Commenting on Bagan’s opponents Shillong Lajong, Sen opined, "Shillong Lajong are a very good side. They got past East Bengal twice and that it itself is a great achievement. They have looked a better team than East Bengal. We have to be careful since they possess the necessary Players to hurt our chances” Sen however said that his team had shown that they could score any time and he would rather make clean sheets his priority, citing Real Madrid's example."A team like Real Madrid boasts of footballers like (Gareth) Bale and (Cristiano) Ronaldo - they also scored only a single goal while keeping a clean sheet over two legs. That is the target," said the Mariners boss referring to Real Madrid’s clash against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. Much would thus depend on the backline of Luciano Sobrosa and Kinshuk Debnath who would look to keep another clean sheet after the Salgaocar encounter. According to Sen, “I have asked my players not to concede any silly goal.” Top officials of Mohun Bagan club were present today at the practice session to encourage the footballers. Among the ones present were club president Swapan Sadhan Bose (Tutu Bose), assistant secretary Srinjoy Bose and finance secretary Debasis Dutta. The Bagan officials have hinted they are not very keen to play the AFC Cup next season if they go on to win the Federation Cup. According to Debasis Dutta, “We don’t think there is enough motivation to play the AFC Cup matches as there is no interest among the fans. If we win the Federation Cup and qualify for AFC we will think about participating in the tournament next season. If we reach the quarter final of AFC, we will not be in a position to send the best team as the season gets ended with the Fed Cup. We will have a discussion with the Federation on this issue.” Thangboi Singto meanwhile praised his Team's grit and determination, as they never gave up even after going 2-1 down against East Bengal and fought back to tie the match and progress. Uilliams Souza will look to start upfront with Fabio Pena with Penn Orji operating from behind the two front men in a roving role. It will be up to young Nim Dorjee Tamang once again to marshal his defense against the dangerous Mohun Bagan attack. Robin Gurung will be back in the side while Boithang Haokip will look to reprise his role after a marvellous display against the ‘Red and Golds’. With the second leg in their own backyard, slated for May 14, 2016, Singto said that it is paramount that his side returns with an away goal, while looking to win the first leg itself.