Salgaocar FC desperate for a win against Air India
- 7:36 AM
- By Football Fans Manipur
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MAPUSA, Dec 29: Salgaocar Football Club find themselves in a must-win clash against Air India in a 12th round I-League clash at the Duler stadium, in Mapusa, on Sunday (December 30).
With the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda under repairs for next year’s Lusofonia Games and the Tilak Maidan (Vasco), yet to be ready, the Duler stadium in Mapusa, owned by the Goa Football Association, will host I-League matches till end of January.
“I don’t see any difficulty in switching to Duler. We have played some games here and some of the players too are familiar with this surface,” said Salgaocar technical director Peter Valles.
Valles will be pleased with the return from injury of India midfielder Francis Fernandes but Brazilian defender and captain Luciano Sobroza continues to be sidelined with a hamstring injury.
“We have to win this match against Air India. Three points are all that we are looking at and I am confident that the players can get a good result for us. They are all raring to go,” said Valles.
“We are not entirely happy with our points position but it’s not all that bad. At least we are not in the relegation zone for the moment,” said Air India coach Anthony Fernandes.
Air India trained at the Duler artificial turf on Saturday and are confident that they can upset the hosts.
“A large part of our problem has been conceding goals at the last moment. We have suffered a lot because of that and need to stop that,” said Fernandes.
Air India will continue to miss striker Prakash Thorat for the third match on the trot.
The kick-off is at 4.00pm.
With the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda under repairs for next year’s Lusofonia Games and the Tilak Maidan (Vasco), yet to be ready, the Duler stadium in Mapusa, owned by the Goa Football Association, will host I-League matches till end of January.
“I don’t see any difficulty in switching to Duler. We have played some games here and some of the players too are familiar with this surface,” said Salgaocar technical director Peter Valles.
Valles will be pleased with the return from injury of India midfielder Francis Fernandes but Brazilian defender and captain Luciano Sobroza continues to be sidelined with a hamstring injury.
“We have to win this match against Air India. Three points are all that we are looking at and I am confident that the players can get a good result for us. They are all raring to go,” said Valles.
“We are not entirely happy with our points position but it’s not all that bad. At least we are not in the relegation zone for the moment,” said Air India coach Anthony Fernandes.
Air India trained at the Duler artificial turf on Saturday and are confident that they can upset the hosts.
“A large part of our problem has been conceding goals at the last moment. We have suffered a lot because of that and need to stop that,” said Fernandes.
Air India will continue to miss striker Prakash Thorat for the third match on the trot.
The kick-off is at 4.00pm.
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