Mahindras search for goals

With a new coach at the helm — fitness fanatic T A Chathunni — the Calcutta team did not have a very convincing start. Talking on the eve of the match, Chathunni said, “Our defenders played a good game against JCT, but the strikers did not capitalise on the openings provided by Chima (Okerie). Despite being tightly marked by Musa Aliu, he kept the JCT defence on tenterhooks and made incisive moves.”

But Bagan’s overdependence on Chima could prove vital here, as Chathunni appreciated the tight marking provided by Mahindra defender Onyeka Okafor.The defence will be marshalled by captain Bishwanath Mondal along with the Manipuri Lolendra Singh, Raijul Moostafa and Satyabrata Bhowmick. The four were successful in keeping Stephen Abarowei and Abdul Latif Seriki, the two main JCT strikers, out of the scorer’s list. The mid-field will be spearheaded by veteran Satayajit Chaterjee with RP Singh and Basudev Mondal for support. Sri-Lankan Roshan Periera is yet to clear his international transfer formalities this year and will not play. The former captain and ex-Tata Football Academy graduate Aloke Das might starter here after being benched for all matches except against Air-India.

Mahindras have had little luck so far except against Air-India. As the coach Deryck de Sousa mentioned, “We are not scoring goals. We had a good chance to get full points in the last match, but Jeevan Moras (A-I defender) denied us that also.” De Sousa has no special plans for checking Bagan. He said, “Our strategy is zonal marking and we will follow that to contain Chima also.” “They are a good side which we have to accept and we will be going for a win,” he added.