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Kingfisher East Bengal take on Sporting Club De Goa in a crucial I-League match at the Salt Lake Stadium on Monday (April 30). With two matches still to play, Kingfisher East Bengal stay on 45 points from 24 matches while Sporting Club De Goa are on 37 points from 24 matches. The Red and Gold need to win both their remaining matches if they are to finish 2nd at the League table.
Trevor Morgan the Kingfisher East Bengal Coach summed up the season saying, “We still need to win our remaining two matches to be sure of a 2nd place finish. It’s been a good season so far. Hopefully we may end up winning the Calcutta League. Not to forget we have already won the Super Cup and the IFA Shield.”
“Last season, Mehtab Hossain played a vital role for the team. This year he stayed injured for a large part of the season so a lot of pressure fell on Uga Ukpara. The duo had played well and had complimented each other last season but this year our defence was tested more than often.”
He added that they have created much more chances than Dempo SC this season but at the same time conceded too many goals at the back.
“It has been a long season and endurance and fitness will be a problem but we will having a full strength side and are ready for the match against Sporting Clube,” he maintained.
Meanwhile, Sporting Club De Goa coach Ekendra Singh said his side will play for a win. “We had stuck to a specific plan against McDowell Mohun Bagan when we played in Kolkata and won. Similarly, we have specific plans for Kingfisher East Bengal. We look forward for a win,” he commented.
The bad news for Sporting stays that forward James Moga will be missing due to a double booking. The key, henceforth, lies with Ogba Kalu to make a difference from his attacking midfield position.
The kick-off is at 3.30pm and the match would be telecast live on Ten Action Plus and NTB.
FROM THE HISTORY BOOKS:
• This will be East Bengal’s 337th match in I League/NFL and they have scored 486 goals so far.
• This will be Sporting Clube de Goa’s 171st match in I League/NFL and they have scored 245 goals so far.
Head to Head in I League/NFL
Total Matches played: 15
Matches won by East Bengal: 7
Matches won by Sporting Clube: 4
Drawn matches: 4
Goals scored by East Bengal: 22
Goals scored by Sporting Clube: 19
Meeting in the First Leg — December 5, 2011 (Margaon)
East Bengal 1 (Tolgay Ozbey)
beat
Sporting Clube de 0
Highest Margin of Victory — May 5, 2006 (Margao):
Sporting Clube de Goa 3 (Chidi Edeh, Hardeep Sahni, Dudu Omagbemi)
beat
East Bengal 1 (Bhaichung Bhutia).
November 15, 2008 (Kolkata):
East Bengal 3 (Sunil Chhetri, Rahim Nabi – brace)
beat
Sporting Clube de Goa 1 (Harmanjot Singh Khabra).
