Jose Ramirez Barreto

Calcutta: An injury-plagued Mohun Bagan will be looking to open their account in the I-League when they take on Air India at the Salt Lake Stadium on Friday.

Despite injuries to four frontline players and a dismal start to their campaign, coach Karim Bencharifa is not losing heart and says it will be a test of their character.

“Tomorrow’s game will be a test of pride and character,” he said after a practice session at the Howrah Stadium on Thursday afternoon. “There will be a few changes because of injuries, but that’s normal… We’ll try everything to get the best out of the players. I am expecting a strong and positive reaction from the players.”

Air India were held 1-1 by Mohammedan Sporting and Bencharifa hasn’t noticed any change in their style. “There were no surprises about Air India… Good defending and hitting back on the counter attacks,” the Moroccan coach said.

Bhaichung Bhutia, Habibur Rehman, Deepak Mondal and goalkeeper Sangram Mukherjee have been ruled out. Bhutia, in fact, needs two weeks’s rest.

Jose Ramirez Barreto and the mercurial P. C. Lalawmpuia will provide some ray of hope upfront. Bencharifa is not losing sleep, knowing well that these are early days in the league.

“There can be no easy opponents in the I-League… It shows how competitive this marathon league can be. There’s still a long way to go but we’ve to start picking points,” the Mohun Bagan coach added.

He is drawing strength from the positives picked up in their opening match.

“Despite the loss, we played well in the second half. We have to pick the positives and move forward. The boys must take responsibility… I have spoken to the players and corrected their mistakes. Hopefully…”

Air India are not willing to take their injury-hit opponents lightly.

“We have to be watchful. Our team is in rebuilding mode after the recent exodus... Since then we have come up well and the boys have combined well with experienced players like Samson and Uttam Singh.

“We have a very good goalkeeper in Arup Debnath and our foreigners (Michael Tayo, Emmanuel Ovieghara, Chukwuma Udofia) are doing well. Scoring a point will be the target,” said coach Bimal Ghosh.

Meanwhile, Vasco did well to hold JCT to a goalless draw in Margao at the Nehru stadium, Agencies add.

The match failed to rise to great heights as both the teams played a listless game. JCT who held more of the exchanges and scoring chances, failed to score with rival keeper Laxmikant Kattimani coming to his side’s rescue on a couple of occasions.

JCT now play against Mohammedan sporting at home in their next match on October 11.