SC East Bengal face FC Goa on the road next as Matchday 75 brings us back to the Fatorda Stadium.
Blast from the past:
The last time these sides met the match ended in a stalemate as both teams shared spoils at the Tilak Maidan in a 1-1 draw.
FC Goa:
The Gaurs come into the game on the back of two back to back draws and sit at the third spot, just one point clear ahead of the fourth placed Hyderabad but they do have a game in hand. FC Goa showed the kind of character and will they posses as they held Kerala Blasters to a 1-1 draw at the GMC Bambolim Stadium despite going down to 10 men. The defending ISL shield winners will miss the service of their head coach Juan Ferrando who is out due to suspension. A few add ons to that list are Ivan Gonzalez who will be serving a one match suspension following a red card against the Tuskers and Brandon Fernandes who is out due to injury. The Gaurs will be aiming nothing less than 3 points against the Hero ISL debutants.
“This game is as important as any other. We play the same way, how we have played all 13 games so far. It is a very important game. One more step towards achieving our goal. We have a bit of concern due to certain omissions. But, otherwise we have a good team. If someone is unavailable, there is always someone who will step in.” said assistant coach Clifford Miranda.
SC East Bengal:
The Hero ISL debutants did not start their campaign on a high but they have displayed their hunger coming into the second half of the season. They sit at 10th place with 12 points to their name and a win with a difference of 4 goals will see them go level with Bengaluru in the table. League Leaders Mumbai City FC brought an end to East Bengal’s unbeaten run as they managed to get all three points in 0-1 encounter. The Red and Golds will be looking to get back to winning ways and to make sure that, they need to focused for full 90 minutes as a lapse in concentration can cost them heavily against the Gaurs.
“We go all out to win every game. I mean this season we have gone three games with 10 men …The first 10 games were almost trial games since we don’t the know the players …Sometimes a penalty can be the deciding factor whether you win or whether you draw or maybe a poor decision, so there is such a fine line,” said SC East Bengal assistant coach Tony Grant.
Players to watch out for:
Jorge Ortiz Mendoza (FC Goa)
The Spaniard has set the stage on fire for the Gaurs and also gained Juan Ferrando’s confidence. He even made sure Igor Angulo’s absence is not felt in the attacking third when he was out due to an injury. FC Goa’s number 9 as he has already scored thrice in the last two games and will have a key role to play against SC East Bengal.
Bright Enobakhare (SC East Bengal)
Ever since his debut for the Kolkata Giants, he has been a threat to all the teams. The Nigerian was surely the missing piece for Robbie Fowler’s side as his arrival has brought a different energy in the camp. He will also be looking to build up on his superb solo goal against the same opponents when they faced off in the first half of the season.
Probable Starting XI:
FC Goa: Naveen (GK), Gama, Dohling, Ali, Seriton, Bedia, Lenny, Jesuraj, Noguera, Ortiz, Angulo.
SC East Bengal: Debjit (GK), Ankit, Neville, Fox, Das, Steinmann, Milan, Surchandra, Enobakhare, Harmanpreet, Maghoma
