Mukherjee confident as East Bengal takes on Ahli Sana'a

Sana'a, Yemen, May 13 (UNI) A confident East Bengal coach Aloke Mukherjee today said his side can get beat local side Ahli Sana'a here tomorrow and qualify for the quarter-finals of the AFC Cup.

''We have proved that we are quite a tough side in the competition and we still have a chance to qualify for the next round,'' Mukherjee said.

''It could have been better for us if we had defeated Safa in our last match. We should have won that day but we missed several scoring chances,'' he added.

East Bengal are currently second in Group B with seven points from five matches. Lebanese club Safa SC are at the top with nine points from as many matches.

If the Kolkata side wins tomorrow's encounter, they would jump to the first spot in the group. Even if Safa bags full points in their final game against Jordan's Al Wihdat, East Bengal would be assured of at least the runners-up spot, which could provide a ticket to the last eight.

East Bengal will be missing defender Debabrata Roy through suspension. They are also plagued by injury worries with goalkeeper Subrata Paul, right back Syed Rahim Nabi and striker Edmilson Marques missing recent training sessions.

Ahli Sana'a, who have failed to register a single win in the competition so far, are bottom of the group after collecting just three points from five games and will be hoping to register their first victory tomorrow.

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