Calcutta: The AFC Cup Group B tie against Arbil at the Francouse Al-Hareeri Stadium, Arbil, will be a do-or-die match for Kingfisher East Bengal on Tuesday.
A win will keep the red and gold brigade in the hunt for a berth in the knockout stages while a loss will bring an end to their AFC Cup dreams for this season. East Bengal occupy the last spot in their group and have lost all their matches so far. In fact, the red and gold brigade are yet to find the net in the competition.
To make matters worse, they won’t get the services of their suspended Australian striker Tolgay Ozebe. Along with coach Trevor James Morgan, he was also barred from travelling with the squad due to visa problems.
But assistant coach Ranjan Chaudhuri said that despite the problems, the team will give their best shot on Tuesday.
“We will not give up despite the three defeats that we had in the previous matches. We will be trying with all we have to win the match on Tuesday because we want to get back into contention,” said.
“Our aim is to win, although we know it will be a tough match because Arbil are one of the strongest teams in the competition.” Captain Sanju Pradhan, too, echoed Ranjan’s views. “We will go all out and cannot afford to lose,” Sanju said.
Arbil, on the other hand, are still unbeaten in the tournament. With two draws and a win, against East Bengal last week, they are second in the table with five points from three matches.
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