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I-League Preview: East Bengal - Sporting Clube De Goa
Must win match for the home side.
29-Apr-2010 11:26:00 PM
By Rahul Sengupta
Time: 17:00 IST, 30th April 2010
Venue: Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata
Time For A Win
East Bengal have had a forgettable season so far except, of course, their triumph in the Federation Cup. Otherwise, the Red and Gold brigade have fared pretty badly in all major tournaments. The team under Philipe De Ridder, which is now in 12th position, is hovering just above the relegation zone.
Two days back the team faced a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Al Nejmeh of Lebanon, and even though they will next be up against bottom-ranked SC Goa, they will have to be very focused, as the same Sporting team had defeated Mohun Bagan in Kolkata.
Continuing The Surprise
Sporting’s form of late has been rather surprising. It took 15-odd matches for the Goan club to register their first victory in the league, but ever since then the team has upstaged a few big names in the league, in the form of Salgaocar, Mohun Bagan, and Churchill Brothers.
They had earlier lost their home encounter in Goa against East Bengal, but will be looking for revenge as they travel with their fully fit squad. They still have a lot to play for, as they will be looking to gain maximum points from their remaining encounters to perform a Houdini escape from the jaws of relegation.
Form Guide
East Bengal
East Bengal 0 – 4 Al Nejmeh, Lebanon (AFC Cup)
East Bengal 1 – 2 Al Ittihad, Syria (AFC Cup)
East Bengal 1 – 0 Mumbai FC
SC Goa
SC Goa 1 – 2 Dempo
SC Goa 2 – 1 Churchill brothers
SC Goa 1 – 0 JCT
Team News
East Bengal
Bhaichung Bhutia, who played the full 90 minutes in the last AFC Cup match, is a doubtful starter. East Bengal’s long list of injured players includes Harmanjot Khabra, Subhash Singh and Mehtab Hussain. However, the team will be boosted by the presence of their captain Syed Rahim Nabi, who will make a comeback after an injury layoff.
SC Goa
Sporting coach Vishwas Gaonkar has the luxury to choose from a fully fit squad with no injury or card problems. Defender Samananda Singh is also back after recovering from his injury.
Key Players
East Bengal – Sanju Pradhan
The young lad from Sikkim is often compared to Bhaichung Bhuita, and his amazing performance in the Kolakta derby led him to win the Man of the Match award as well. In the absence of Mehtab Hussain, it will be Sanju starting in the heart of the midfield. Vishwas Gaonkar must watch out for this young talent.
SC Goa – Adil Khan
Taking about talent, young Adil has been one of the revelations of this year’s I-League. The youngster has performed well in defence in the absence of other key players due to injury. He has also played well in the role of a midfielder. However, he is most famous for his goal scoring abilities that helped SC Goa in matches against Bagan and Dempo.
Key Areas
SC Goa strikers Nathienel Amos and Micheal Tayo have been highly ineffective recently. At the same time, East Bengal have one of the worst defences in the league. It will interesting to see how that battle works out, as the side that gets it right will probably win the game for their team.
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Venue: Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata
Time For A Win
East Bengal have had a forgettable season so far except, of course, their triumph in the Federation Cup. Otherwise, the Red and Gold brigade have fared pretty badly in all major tournaments. The team under Philipe De Ridder, which is now in 12th position, is hovering just above the relegation zone.
Two days back the team faced a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Al Nejmeh of Lebanon, and even though they will next be up against bottom-ranked SC Goa, they will have to be very focused, as the same Sporting team had defeated Mohun Bagan in Kolkata.
Continuing The Surprise
Sporting’s form of late has been rather surprising. It took 15-odd matches for the Goan club to register their first victory in the league, but ever since then the team has upstaged a few big names in the league, in the form of Salgaocar, Mohun Bagan, and Churchill Brothers.
They had earlier lost their home encounter in Goa against East Bengal, but will be looking for revenge as they travel with their fully fit squad. They still have a lot to play for, as they will be looking to gain maximum points from their remaining encounters to perform a Houdini escape from the jaws of relegation.
Form Guide
East Bengal
East Bengal 0 – 4 Al Nejmeh, Lebanon (AFC Cup)
East Bengal 1 – 2 Al Ittihad, Syria (AFC Cup)
East Bengal 1 – 0 Mumbai FC
SC Goa
SC Goa 1 – 2 Dempo
SC Goa 2 – 1 Churchill brothers
SC Goa 1 – 0 JCT
Team News
East Bengal
Bhaichung Bhutia, who played the full 90 minutes in the last AFC Cup match, is a doubtful starter. East Bengal’s long list of injured players includes Harmanjot Khabra, Subhash Singh and Mehtab Hussain. However, the team will be boosted by the presence of their captain Syed Rahim Nabi, who will make a comeback after an injury layoff.
SC Goa
Sporting coach Vishwas Gaonkar has the luxury to choose from a fully fit squad with no injury or card problems. Defender Samananda Singh is also back after recovering from his injury.
Key Players
East Bengal – Sanju Pradhan
The young lad from Sikkim is often compared to Bhaichung Bhuita, and his amazing performance in the Kolakta derby led him to win the Man of the Match award as well. In the absence of Mehtab Hussain, it will be Sanju starting in the heart of the midfield. Vishwas Gaonkar must watch out for this young talent.
SC Goa – Adil Khan
Taking about talent, young Adil has been one of the revelations of this year’s I-League. The youngster has performed well in defence in the absence of other key players due to injury. He has also played well in the role of a midfielder. However, he is most famous for his goal scoring abilities that helped SC Goa in matches against Bagan and Dempo.
Key Areas
SC Goa strikers Nathienel Amos and Micheal Tayo have been highly ineffective recently. At the same time, East Bengal have one of the worst defences in the league. It will interesting to see how that battle works out, as the side that gets it right will probably win the game for their team.
Become a fan of Goal.com India's Facebook fan page for all the latest news and insight into everything related to the beautiful game!
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