MARGAO: Top-placed Salgaocar will have to be at their cautious best when they take on ONGC on Sunday in the return match of the I-League, at the Nehru Stadium, Fatorda. ONGC, which has the distinction of being the first team to beat East Bengal and holding the fancied Churchill Brothers and Pune FC to draws, makes them a dangerous side and a difficult team to beat.
Salgaocar, sitting pretty on top with 34 points, three points ahead of second-placed East Bengal, will be looking to consolidate their position. ONGC, who held Indians Arrows to a draw in their last match after beating the mighty East Bengal, are fighting to avoid relegation. They are placed second from bottom with 11 points.
Salgaocar’s discipli-ned and organised performance throughout has earned them the top position and the credit goes to their coach Karim Bencherifa who moulded the youngsters to play as a cohesive unit.
Wingers Gilbert Oliveira, Francis Fernandes and Anthony Barboso have played well on the flanks, providing the right crosses for gangling striker Rjuji Seouka who has been the most successful striker scoring 12 goals, is placed second behind Churchill Brothers Odafe Okolie in the scoring chart.
Salgaocar hold an edge over their rivals having beaten them by a lone goal in their away match and also have the psychological advantage of playing at home.
Coach Karim Bencherifa is happy the way his boys are playing, especially the youngsters. "The boys need to remain more focussed and keep on winning. Our opponents are dangerous and have the ability to beat the top team and we have to remain more cautious and play our attacking game to secure full points," stated Bencherifa.
ONGC, under their new coach Subrata Bhattacharya, look to be a transformed side in the second leg having beaten mighty East Bengal and holding Indian Arrows to a draw. They are hoping that the strikers find their form as they are keen to snatch points to stay above relegation.
"We have played well especially against top teams, but tend to lose focus and momentum which has put us in relegation zone. Salgaocar has proved themselves by staying at the top of the table and we really need to play well to overcome them," stated Bhattacharya.
Pune FC, Viva Kerala in eight-goal thriller At Salt Lake stadium, Kolkata, Mohun Bagan and Churchill Bros played out a goalless draw
PUNE: Hosts Pune FC squandered a four-goal lead to draw 4-4 with Viva Kerala in a thrilling Round 16 I-League football match at the Balewadi Sports Complex on Saturday. In a match that saw eight goals scored, Pune FC opened up a 4-0 lead, but failed to keep the determined Viva Kerala side at bay and squandered a golden opportunity of earning full points.
The home side had Edmar Figuera (3rd minute), Gurjinder Kumar (19th), Mandjou Keita (25th) and Mandjou Keita (37th) score and sit in comfort zone, before Viva pulled one back through Anilkumar (40th) to end the first half. Viva returned in the second half to net three more through Felix Chimadkwo (54th), Bello Rassak (74th) while Anilkumar (80th) rounded off the tally.
The draw took PFC to 16 points from fifteen rounds, while Viva are on 12 points after playing a round more. Indian Arrows hold East Bengal
It was yet another impressive performance by the young guns of Indian Arrows as they gallantly held East Bengal 1-1 in a round 16 encounter of the I-League played at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Gurgaon here on Saturday. Ongnam Milan Singh provided the surprise lead which was nullified by R Vashum, who was making a comeback after recovering from a prolonged injury for East Bengal.
The game started at brisk pace as both the teams took an aggressive approach. Indian Arrows have proved a hard nut to crack at home and it was no different story as Milan Singh flicked a Lalrin Dikaralte free-kick into the goal in the 8th minute to put the home side in front.
It was surely an alarming bell for the Trevor Morgan coached side as they found themselves trailing in the opening minutes of the game. Soumik Dey made a swift run down the left flank and provided an inch perfect cross in the centre, Indian Arrows goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu did get a hand to it, but it was not enough as R Vashum found himself unmarked to do the rest and bring his side back to level terms in the 18th minute.
East Bengal did make numerous inroads in the opponent citadel but had to contain themselves with the scoreline reading 1-1 at break.
What lacked in the first half was equally compensated by the Indian Arrows back-four after the lemon break as they stood firm containing East Bengal strikers. Raju Gaekwad, who was further declared Man of the Match stood firm and had a good day at the office, while the others put up a spirited performance.
The draw helped the Arrows to garner 16 points from as many matches, while East Bengal still remain at second spot with 32 points from 15 matches, two points behind the league leaders Salgaocar SC.
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