Sunday, Sep 22, 2002
Sunday, Sep 22, 2002 |
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Football
Visiting Colombo 10 days back Mohun Bagan had triumphed 2-0 against the same opponent in the first match of the `home-and-away' contest. The green-and-maroon brigade is upbeat about bettering the achievement. The sub-continental contest puts to test the style and substance of the two neighbours and the Mohun Bagan coach, Subrato Bhattacharya, is keen to win the return match. With Mohun Bagan needing only a draw against Saunders to ensure a face-off against Maldives club Valencia in the next round, Bhattacharya said his boys will go all out for a win as it is a matter of national pride. On the other hand, Saunders too is keen to avenge the humiliation at home. Coach P.D. Sirisena said that his team, with an average age of 21, is high both on agility and skills but have been done in by some amateurish flaws generally associated with inexperience. Speaking after the practice on the eve of the match the coach said that his team, guided by a very creative midfield, had the greater share of aggression against Mohun Bagan at home but an inexperienced forwardline failed to make use of the opportunities. The biggest disparity between the two teams is the attack. While Mohun Bagan presents one of the best strike-force of the sub-continent combining Brazilian Jose Barreto and the national captain Bhaichung Bhutia, Saunders has relative rookies — Sanjay Kumara and Niroshana Abeyasekara — doing the job for it. Apart from its superlative forwardline Mohun Bagan has a reasonable midfield but a mediocre defence, which puts the team on a queer pitch. Having a fair measure of its opponent in the first match, Saunders now seeks to curtail its exuberance and play a waiting game that is "likely to open up the home team and give us the chance to attack on the counter moves,'' said Sirisena. Both Mohun Bagan, which is more than a century old, and 81-year-old Saunders have a rich footballing history and the clash on Sunday will thus be a real trial of tact and temperament. — Our Sports Reporter
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