Calcutta, April 19 :
Calcutta, April 19:
Mohun Bagan are probably looking for a respectable finish to the fifth National Football League. Tomorrow, versus Salgaocar of Goa, they will have to guard against the laggards - and not too few of them in the team - and concentrate on some good, attacking soccer, for a change. Something that Mohun Bagan did against FC Kochin, and earned great dividends.
Some in Mohun Bagan's regular line-up are still busy with the Indian pre-World Cup campaign, hence there will remain that gap. Coach Subrata Bhattacharya has been harping about a 'big-bodied' forward. What he has been given instead is Abdul Khalique, on lien from Mohammedan Sporting (for the last three matches of the league).
Brazilian Jose Ramirez Barreto has remained the key figure in the forward line, but in the last match, versus East Bengal, the attacking duo of Barreto and Alfaz Ahmed (of Bangladesh) was starving for feed, because Basudeb Mondal was not around. That problem will not be there tomorrow, and the half line is expected to be working better, but Barreto is coming out of a leg injury and Bhattacharya could have reservations about fielding him full time or at all tomorrow.
It is to be seen if Khalique starts the day, with Alfaz. Alfaz has shown enough resilience and attacking verve, but he has also failed to develop any understanding with Barreto. That resulted in too much individualistic play upfront. Not that Khalique has any ready-made understanding with the Brazilian, but he could get more tips from the rest of the team. Then, of course, remains the problem of whether Khalique and Alfaz could develop a combination.
Khalique, who was taken on lien early this week, has been practising with the team regularly, and the Bangladeshis (including Md Nakib, who has not been fielded at all) are dying to get back home for their local league. Bhattacharya refused to show his cards, but he will probably be keeping Barreto on hold, to get going if the need arises. Most important, though is the attack line-half line understanding.
That is essential survival strategy for the Calcutta team, keeping it mind the presence of stalwarts like Bruno Coutinho and Alvito D'Cunha in the Salgaocar team. And keeping in mind that this season Mohun Bagan have not been able to beat Salgaocar (including in the Rovers Cup).
Holders Bagan have a tenuous chance of catching up with East Bengal (despite East Bengal losing a point and being just two points ahead now), but the second position should be encouragement enough.
Salgaocar are coming out of a late season slump. They were beaten by statemates Churchill Brothers, despite having earned a creditable draw versus East Bengal not too many days before that.
The afternoon tomorrow should be tense.
LIKELY TEAMS
SALGAOCAR: Juje Siddi, Covan Lawrence, Roberto Fernandes, Franky Barreto, Venancio Gonsalves, Jules Alberto, Climax Lawrence, Dharamjit Singh/Denis Cabral, Christian Okoye, Bruno Coutinho/Tijani Ahmed, Alvito D'Cunha/Roque Pereira.
MOHUN BAGAN: Bivash Ghosh, Dulal Biswas, Amouri, Hussein Mustafi, Lolendra Singh, James Singh, Basudeb Mondal, Debjit Ghosh, M. Suresh/ Naushad Pari, Alfaz Ahmed/Abdul Khalique, Jose Ramirez Barreto.