PUNE, Dec 22: Mumbai FC will thank Prayag United SC for breaking East Bengal’s 15-match winning streak in the last round that augurs well for the Khalid Jamil-coached side that once was scrapping at the bottom of the table.
Perched at No 6 with 16 points from 11 matches, Mumbai FC has all the fireworks to put it across Trevor Morgan’s No3-placed East Bengal, which has 21 points from 10 matches. Though East Bengal losing to Prayag United in the Round XI match is no yardstick to measure Kolkata giant’s current state of preparedness, but their morale has surely taken a beating without doubt.
The two teams meet in the Round XII match of the I-League Football championship at the Balewadi Stadium here on Sunday evening with the match being telecast live.
But for the reversal in the Round X match against Air India, Mumbai FC has shown resilience to face up to any opposition with results that has surprised many. Strikers ND Opara and Yusif Yakubu have been key to Mumbai’s reversal of fortunes, but Jamil should be more happy that home-bred forwards Abhishek Yadav and Gabriel Fernandes too have shown enough firepower to penetrate into the opposition and create scoring opportunities.
Yakubu and Yadav have been combining well while Gabriel proving real terror running up and down the flanks with sheer pace that is a sight to watch for. In the midfield, Nicholas Rodrigues, Subhash Chakraborty and S Kuttymani have been creative carrying out Jamil’s instructions to the point.
While Luis Berreto has kept the goal fairly well, Mumbai’s defence too looks strong with Peter Costa, William Colaco and Justine Stephen manning the forte. The way Mumbai bamboozled Mohun Bagan in that drawn match, it showed the Khalid Jamil and his boys rise to the occasion when a stronger opposition comes in front.
In the last five I-league encounters, East Bengal has a clear edge—winning three and drawing one. Mumbai won only once, in March 2011, but the irony for the host is that they haven’t been able to contain East Bengal on the home turf.
East Bengal, which briefly led the I-League standings before Dempo and Chruchill Brothers surged ahead, would be looking at improving their record at this ground. When East Bengal played here last, they beat Air India 3-0 in the early part of this season and that should be comforting.
Trevor Morgan has Edeh Chidi, Manandeep Singh and Penn Orji to bank upon. They opened against Prayag too, but were stifled by the resilient Prayag defenders. Orji had almost scored in te 71st minute only to see line referee raising the flag.
Towards the end Lalrindika Ralte was introduced and he certainly added more impetus to the East Bengal attack. He looked desperate to score, but Prayag goalkeeper Subrata Paul parried out a long range pile driver. Edeh was in place to collect the ball and shoot back, but East Bengal had no such luck, which they would like to carry in plenty on the morrow.
Perched at No 6 with 16 points from 11 matches, Mumbai FC has all the fireworks to put it across Trevor Morgan’s No3-placed East Bengal, which has 21 points from 10 matches. Though East Bengal losing to Prayag United in the Round XI match is no yardstick to measure Kolkata giant’s current state of preparedness, but their morale has surely taken a beating without doubt.
The two teams meet in the Round XII match of the I-League Football championship at the Balewadi Stadium here on Sunday evening with the match being telecast live.
But for the reversal in the Round X match against Air India, Mumbai FC has shown resilience to face up to any opposition with results that has surprised many. Strikers ND Opara and Yusif Yakubu have been key to Mumbai’s reversal of fortunes, but Jamil should be more happy that home-bred forwards Abhishek Yadav and Gabriel Fernandes too have shown enough firepower to penetrate into the opposition and create scoring opportunities.
Yakubu and Yadav have been combining well while Gabriel proving real terror running up and down the flanks with sheer pace that is a sight to watch for. In the midfield, Nicholas Rodrigues, Subhash Chakraborty and S Kuttymani have been creative carrying out Jamil’s instructions to the point.
While Luis Berreto has kept the goal fairly well, Mumbai’s defence too looks strong with Peter Costa, William Colaco and Justine Stephen manning the forte. The way Mumbai bamboozled Mohun Bagan in that drawn match, it showed the Khalid Jamil and his boys rise to the occasion when a stronger opposition comes in front.
In the last five I-league encounters, East Bengal has a clear edge—winning three and drawing one. Mumbai won only once, in March 2011, but the irony for the host is that they haven’t been able to contain East Bengal on the home turf.
East Bengal, which briefly led the I-League standings before Dempo and Chruchill Brothers surged ahead, would be looking at improving their record at this ground. When East Bengal played here last, they beat Air India 3-0 in the early part of this season and that should be comforting.
Trevor Morgan has Edeh Chidi, Manandeep Singh and Penn Orji to bank upon. They opened against Prayag too, but were stifled by the resilient Prayag defenders. Orji had almost scored in te 71st minute only to see line referee raising the flag.
Towards the end Lalrindika Ralte was introduced and he certainly added more impetus to the East Bengal attack. He looked desperate to score, but Prayag goalkeeper Subrata Paul parried out a long range pile driver. Edeh was in place to collect the ball and shoot back, but East Bengal had no such luck, which they would like to carry in plenty on the morrow.
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