Pailan Arrows take on Mumbai FC in a Group A, Federation Cup tie to be held in Jamshedpur on Friday, in a clash that Khalid Jamil’s side cannot afford to lose, if they are to keep their hopes of winning the tournament alive.

The Mumbai-based side seemed to have salvaged a draw against Shillong Lajong in their first game, only for their former striker G. Friday to score the winner for the North-East side, in the 90^th minute.

Not being able to avail Yusif Yakubu’s service during the Federation Cup, with the veteran on leave due to personal reasons, is clearly hampering Mumbai FC’s attack, as the options on the bench are not too encouraging.

Khalid Jamil will definitely impress on his players the need to maintain their concentration throughout the game, something which they failed to do against Shillong Lajong.

And any complacency on the part of the Mumbai based side will definitely be punished by the Pailan Arrows, who are a fitter and more competitive outfit under Arthur Papas than they were last season.

The Kolkatan outfit were unlucky to come away with just a point against I-League champions Dempo SC, who were rescued by the post on two occasions.

The Arrows Gave Dempo A Run For Their Money...

However a draw against perhaps the strongest side on paper in the Group, if not the competition, will definitely boost the confidence of the young side, who showed great composure on the ball against Dempo.

They though will be up against a totally different outfit in the form of Mumbai FC, who are a far more physical and direct outfit than the Goan side.

Khalid Jamil’s tactics have always involved playing the ball wide and crossing the ball into the box, to utilize the heading abilities of players like ND Opara and Abhishek Yadav.

Therefore the roles of players like Milan Singh and Pranay Halder in midfield will be even more important, as they try to snuff out the supply to the Mumbai FC strikers and set up chances for their own attacking players.

• Pailan Arrows have never made it past the group stages in the Federation Cup, neither have their opponents, Mumbai FC, ever made it past that stage.

• The Arrows have had the edge over Khalid Jamil’s side in the last 5 meetings, winning 2 of them, with the other three ending in a draw.

• 35 year old Khalid Jamil, starting his fourth season with Mumbai FC, is already one of the longest serving coaches amongst I-League clubs.

• Last season, Pailan Arrows, with 17 goals, were the team that found the back of the net the least number of times.

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