Khanolkar8217;s absence a loss

Though Vaz is worried about the team8217;s last line of defence, he is still left with a more than a competent man for the job 8212; Mark Mascarenhas.

Mascarenhas had done a wonderful job in the final after Khanolkar was ejected.

8220;The fact that I used Khanolkar for most of last season meant Mascarenhas may be low on confidence. He is a good goalkeeper, but lacks in inches,8221; feels Vaz.

Central Railway, who have not played competitions since the loss to BMFC in the Rovers Cup, have several new faces to support the faithfuls when the season begins, on July 9.

Prashant Gadge, Douzy Godinho, Agnello Fernandes, Sagar Amin, Venkat Rao, Saeed Ansari and Tabrez Ansari arethe new faces 8212; some have joined, others are in the process of joining the Railway team.

Among the fresh legs, Godinho may be thrust into a dual role as Vaz feels he is capable of manning the defence and playing in midfield as well.

The team carries one injury worry in Prakash Fernandes. 8220;He did looked ginger,8221; said Vaz. But his other injured player, Asif Jamil, has recovered from it admirably.

Central Railway coach: Irenio Vaz.

New Imports: Prashant Gadge, Douzy Godinho, Agnello Fernandes, Sagar Amin, Venkat Rao, Saeed Ansari, Tabrez Ansari.

Players to watch: Arif Ansari, Asif Jamil and Arshad Ansari.

Performance in local league: Finished fifth in 1998.

Performance in other tournaments: Runners-up in Rover Cup 1998.

CENTRAL RAILWAY TEAM

Goalkeepers: Anthony, Mark Mascarenhas. Defenders: Sagar Amin, Anton Fernandes, Prakash Fernandes, Prashant Gadge, Sadanand Kakodkar, Amir Lotlikar, Venkat Rao, Douzy Godinho. Midfielders: ArifAnsari, Shanta Kumar Panicker, Masood Ansari, Hamid Ansari, Saeed Ansari, Dwayne Sequeira. Strikers: Arshad Ansari, Asif Jamil, Augusto D8217;Silva, Agnello Fernandes, Pradip Saha, Tabrez Ansari.