Dempo face uphill task in AFC last 16

As if outlasting defending champions Al Muharraq and two-time champions Al Faisaly in the group stages of the AFC Cup wasnt enough.

AS if outlasting defending champions Al Muharraq and two-time champions Al Faisaly in the group stages of the AFC Cup wasnt enough,the road just got tougher for Dempo SC going into the knock-out stages. They face Kuwait SC in the AFC Cup pre-quarterfinal play-off in Kuwait on Tuesday. Following the celebrations from their 3-1 victory over Al Faisaly on May 19 in a must-win situation,the do-or-die talks made a comeback as the team left on Sunday. To make things tougher,the Goans are going to miss India defender Mahesh Gawli due to a double booking. Dominique Noronha will replace him.

Last year we directly qualified for the quarter-finals from the group stage but this time its not going to come that easy. The draw,especially as we were expecting to play at a neutral venue,has been unfair but we have to accept it, Armando Colaco told The Indian Express.

Devising strategies

Far from relaxing in this five-day gap between the two matches,the Goans have kept busy devising strategies for their first-time opponents. And the helping hand has come from the team who bore the brunt of the Kuwaitis,conceding seven goals in two matches Mohun Bagan. Every year you play a new team but you dont need to go too much into it to assess their Kuwait SCs strength as they beat Mohun Bagan 6-0 and 1-0. We saw a video of the match and Beto had a chat with Barreto about this, Colaco added.

They like to attack all the time,which suits us. They are also not that good with aerial balls and we need our wingers to be alert. Mahesh Gawlis absence will be a setback, Beto said,even as his strike partner seemed surprised at being given an away tie. This is the knock-out stage and we are playing the play-off away. We didnt have even a weeks rest. Everything is against us. But honestly,I didnt expect Dempo to come this far with such strong teams in the group, Ranty Martins said.

Group D toppers Kuwait SC are not taking the second-place finishers of Group E lightly,though. We have to win against Dempo. They are strong and we should respect them because they qualified from a group that had the defending champions, Kuwait SC coach Laurent Banide was quoted as saying by the AFC website.