|
|
I-League Round Ten Preview
Goal.com goes through the I-League fixtures and informs the Indian football fan of the action from the tenth round...
23-Nov-2008 1:54:03 PM
The I-League
is getting interesting with each round. League leaders Sporting Clube De Goa
drew for the first time, JCT came back to winning ways, Vasco should some
spirit despite going down to Mohun Bagan, Air India’s came back brilliantly in
the injury time against Churchill Brothers, Dempo cruised against Mohammedan
and Chirag were unlucky to drop two points against Mumbai FC.
That was the
last round in gist.
One of the reasons why I wrote ‘ten’ instead of ‘X’ is that some might read the latter as the letter X! No guys, it’s not an X-rated round though it does have some mouth-watering clashes! Here’s the list:
Mohammedan Sporting SC – Churchill Brothers SC (23rd November ’08, Kolkata)
The Kolkata side are having problems on and off the field as their opponents. Mike Okoro, Theodore Sunday and Adebayo Adewausi didn’t attend the training session on Saturday. It is believed that the players haven’t received the salary for a month and aren’t happy with the officials for the same.
Okoro has been the leader of the foreign contingent after talks with coach Shabbir Ali things have been pacified. “Theo (Sunday) isn’t 100% but all of them are expected to participate. With Theo we are taking a chance,” said Shabbir.
Their defence was torn apart by Dempo’s swift passing and if Churchill Brothers play their natural game, Mohammedan are in for trouble. The Black and Whites would take heart that Churchill Brothers aren’t in deadly form off-late.
The Goan side have been in the news for all the wrong reasons for the last two weeks. The runners-up from last season have been conceding silly goals from set-pieces, throw-ins and corner-kicks. Their strikers – Odafa Okolie and Felix Chimaokwu have been amongst goals but are guilty of missing double the number of chances.
Kolkata hasn’t been a lucky place for Churchill Brothers as they have drawn and lost their two games in the city. An entertaining game to shrug off the Sunday afternoon yawns.
Sporting Clube De Goa – Air India (23rd November ’08, Goa)
On any other day, this game would pass off unnoticed but the given their current standing in the league, it’s the top two teams coming face-to-face.
‘The winner takes it all’ and three points for either side could work wonders. Both sides have been in excellent touch this season.Air India have not won a single game outside Mumbai while Sporting have lost one home game.
Sporting would welcome back skipper Wilton Gomes and Joseph Pereira which would add experience in the side. The two clubs are coming off draws and would be more than keen to get back to winning ways.
The Goan club’s midfield and defense have done a great job for them with the likes of Harmanjot Khabra, Joseph Pereira and Remus Gomes throwing their weight. The coordination between their strikers Nathaniel Amos and Junior Elijah is very good.
Air India aren’t far behind and their goalkeeper Arup Debnath deserves special mention who has pulled off exceptional saves in the last game against Churchill Brothers.
While Sporting opt for more ground passes under Coach Vishwas Gaonkar, Air India are the masters of the long ball strategy.
Mohun Bagan – Mahindra United (24th November ’08, Kolkata)
Not long ago, Mohun Bagan were giving company to Mahindra United at the bottom of the table. But with four wins in as many matches, Bagan have recovered from the bad start to find themselves placed in the top three.
The Green and Maroon haven’t played the most attractive football and have been experts in churning out the results in the end. Bencherifa’s boys have shown the character after failing to win a single game for the first five rounds. Baretto, Ishfaq Ahmed, Deepak Mandal and N.S.Manju have been giving their hearts out. The team looks settled and with their current form they should snap the three points.
Looking at Mahindra United’s standing in the league table, one would feel that the club is playing bad. In the last match against Sporting Clube De Goa, they did very well and should have got full points. The Jeepmen have been guilty of missing far too many chances in front of the goal. If one ponders what’s wrong with the Durand Cup champions, then the only conclusion is poor finishing which Coach Derrick Pereira has been highlighting since the start of the league.
Still, nothing’s lost for the Mumbai club as two wins could propel them in the top half.
Chirag United – Vasco SC (25th November ’08, Kolkata)
The Kolkata team would be cursing their luck and the profligacy of striker Sankar Oraon for many a host of open chances against Mumbai FC.
The only positive for them is that they created and outclassed their opponents after coming from a 0-4 away thrashing at the hands of Dempo SC. Good attacking display from the last outing would surely boost their confidence and three points against Vasco is a must.
Vasco SC, one of the teams whom almost everyone is sure to get relegated, might take some inspiration from their form in the last three games. They held Mumbai FC, lost to Mohammedan Sporting towards the end and went down to Bagan despite a good showing.
Lacking a target man and a defence which is as brittle as a chalk, Vasco would have to play out of their skins. The Goan side has scored just four in the league and I leave you to draw your own conclusions…!
Mumbai FC – JCT (26th November ’08, Mumbai)
The Mumbai club have lost their way after a brilliant start and it’s time for them to regroup before facing JCT. Their form has dipped with each round and the spirit from the first three games is missing.
Their defence was literally opened on a number of occasion by the strike force of a tenth placed team! Sanjay Parte, Selwyn Fernandes and Anthony Fernandes allowed too much space and were slow against the Chirag forwards.
Goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey looks short on confidence when the ball is passed back by his defender.
JCT crafted a neat win over East Bengal in the last round and their confidence is on top once again. Eduardo Da Silva was a livewire and complimenting him was Balwant Singh. With a gritty defence, it won’t be easy for Mumbai FC to break them. A draw looks very much on the cards.
Dempo SC – East Bengal (26th November ’08, Goa)
This is the match of the tenth round with defending champions Dempo taking on last season’s Federation Cup winners. On paper, two of the best squads in the league come face-to-face.
Two good wins have been beneficial for Dempo in restoring their confidence back. It was always just a matter of getting that one emphatic victory for the champions to get back on track after a brief lull period. Ranti has been amongst goals and the midfielders – Beto and Climax are doing well. Whoever had written off the Indian champions earlier, must think again as they are the favourites to register another three points in their surge to the top.
East Bengal’s road form hasn’t been great. They lost away to Air India and JCT. With injury worries, the Red and Gold’s have lost the sting. Every game, they have a list of players in the treatment room. They did manage to beat Sporting Clube De Goa but all their wok was undone away at JCT where they lost 0-1.
Coach Stanley Rosario would look at some of his key players for individual brilliance but that seems difficult especially against a side of Dempo’s quality.
Rahul Bali.
One of the reasons why I wrote ‘ten’ instead of ‘X’ is that some might read the latter as the letter X! No guys, it’s not an X-rated round though it does have some mouth-watering clashes! Here’s the list:
Mohammedan Sporting SC – Churchill Brothers SC (23rd November ’08, Kolkata)
The Kolkata side are having problems on and off the field as their opponents. Mike Okoro, Theodore Sunday and Adebayo Adewausi didn’t attend the training session on Saturday. It is believed that the players haven’t received the salary for a month and aren’t happy with the officials for the same.
Okoro has been the leader of the foreign contingent after talks with coach Shabbir Ali things have been pacified. “Theo (Sunday) isn’t 100% but all of them are expected to participate. With Theo we are taking a chance,” said Shabbir.
Their defence was torn apart by Dempo’s swift passing and if Churchill Brothers play their natural game, Mohammedan are in for trouble. The Black and Whites would take heart that Churchill Brothers aren’t in deadly form off-late.
The Goan side have been in the news for all the wrong reasons for the last two weeks. The runners-up from last season have been conceding silly goals from set-pieces, throw-ins and corner-kicks. Their strikers – Odafa Okolie and Felix Chimaokwu have been amongst goals but are guilty of missing double the number of chances.
Kolkata hasn’t been a lucky place for Churchill Brothers as they have drawn and lost their two games in the city. An entertaining game to shrug off the Sunday afternoon yawns.
Sporting Clube De Goa – Air India (23rd November ’08, Goa)
On any other day, this game would pass off unnoticed but the given their current standing in the league, it’s the top two teams coming face-to-face.
‘The winner takes it all’ and three points for either side could work wonders. Both sides have been in excellent touch this season.Air India have not won a single game outside Mumbai while Sporting have lost one home game.
Sporting would welcome back skipper Wilton Gomes and Joseph Pereira which would add experience in the side. The two clubs are coming off draws and would be more than keen to get back to winning ways.
The Goan club’s midfield and defense have done a great job for them with the likes of Harmanjot Khabra, Joseph Pereira and Remus Gomes throwing their weight. The coordination between their strikers Nathaniel Amos and Junior Elijah is very good.
Air India aren’t far behind and their goalkeeper Arup Debnath deserves special mention who has pulled off exceptional saves in the last game against Churchill Brothers.
While Sporting opt for more ground passes under Coach Vishwas Gaonkar, Air India are the masters of the long ball strategy.
Mohun Bagan – Mahindra United (24th November ’08, Kolkata)
Not long ago, Mohun Bagan were giving company to Mahindra United at the bottom of the table. But with four wins in as many matches, Bagan have recovered from the bad start to find themselves placed in the top three.
The Green and Maroon haven’t played the most attractive football and have been experts in churning out the results in the end. Bencherifa’s boys have shown the character after failing to win a single game for the first five rounds. Baretto, Ishfaq Ahmed, Deepak Mandal and N.S.Manju have been giving their hearts out. The team looks settled and with their current form they should snap the three points.
Looking at Mahindra United’s standing in the league table, one would feel that the club is playing bad. In the last match against Sporting Clube De Goa, they did very well and should have got full points. The Jeepmen have been guilty of missing far too many chances in front of the goal. If one ponders what’s wrong with the Durand Cup champions, then the only conclusion is poor finishing which Coach Derrick Pereira has been highlighting since the start of the league.
Still, nothing’s lost for the Mumbai club as two wins could propel them in the top half.
Chirag United – Vasco SC (25th November ’08, Kolkata)
The Kolkata team would be cursing their luck and the profligacy of striker Sankar Oraon for many a host of open chances against Mumbai FC.
The only positive for them is that they created and outclassed their opponents after coming from a 0-4 away thrashing at the hands of Dempo SC. Good attacking display from the last outing would surely boost their confidence and three points against Vasco is a must.
Vasco SC, one of the teams whom almost everyone is sure to get relegated, might take some inspiration from their form in the last three games. They held Mumbai FC, lost to Mohammedan Sporting towards the end and went down to Bagan despite a good showing.
Lacking a target man and a defence which is as brittle as a chalk, Vasco would have to play out of their skins. The Goan side has scored just four in the league and I leave you to draw your own conclusions…!
Mumbai FC – JCT (26th November ’08, Mumbai)
The Mumbai club have lost their way after a brilliant start and it’s time for them to regroup before facing JCT. Their form has dipped with each round and the spirit from the first three games is missing.
Their defence was literally opened on a number of occasion by the strike force of a tenth placed team! Sanjay Parte, Selwyn Fernandes and Anthony Fernandes allowed too much space and were slow against the Chirag forwards.
Goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey looks short on confidence when the ball is passed back by his defender.
JCT crafted a neat win over East Bengal in the last round and their confidence is on top once again. Eduardo Da Silva was a livewire and complimenting him was Balwant Singh. With a gritty defence, it won’t be easy for Mumbai FC to break them. A draw looks very much on the cards.
Dempo SC – East Bengal (26th November ’08, Goa)
This is the match of the tenth round with defending champions Dempo taking on last season’s Federation Cup winners. On paper, two of the best squads in the league come face-to-face.
Two good wins have been beneficial for Dempo in restoring their confidence back. It was always just a matter of getting that one emphatic victory for the champions to get back on track after a brief lull period. Ranti has been amongst goals and the midfielders – Beto and Climax are doing well. Whoever had written off the Indian champions earlier, must think again as they are the favourites to register another three points in their surge to the top.
East Bengal’s road form hasn’t been great. They lost away to Air India and JCT. With injury worries, the Red and Gold’s have lost the sting. Every game, they have a list of players in the treatment room. They did manage to beat Sporting Clube De Goa but all their wok was undone away at JCT where they lost 0-1.
Coach Stanley Rosario would look at some of his key players for individual brilliance but that seems difficult especially against a side of Dempo’s quality.
Rahul Bali.
Inside Goal.Com
-
Euro 2012 Group D: Stats to keep at your fingertips
With the final edition of the statistical overview, we take a look at hosts and heavyweights in Group D
-
Blast from the Past - Euro 1976 Final: Czechoslovakia 2(5)-(3)2 West Germany
This edition of Blast from the Past brings a highly eccentric clash between Czechoslovakia and Germany in the Euro 1976 Final.
-
Blast from the Past - Euro 1972 Semi-finals: Belgium 1-2 West Germany
In the latest piece of Blast from the Past, Goal.com takes a look at one of the best matches for the tournament's 1972 edition...
-
Poll: Who will be most missed at Euro 2012?
Several key players from the top teams in the competition will be absent from the Poland and Ukraine, but Goal.com asks whose loss from the tournament will be felt the greatest
-
The list of EPL targets from Euro 2012 Group A
With the transfer rumour mill set to kick into frenzy throughout this month's European Championship, Goal.com looks at which players could be heading for England this summer