Uphill task for Salgaocar against East Bengal tomorrow

Margao, Apr 29 (UNI) Lowly placed former champions Salgaocar will have a tough task on hand when they lock horns with Kolkata giant East Bengal in the second leg of the ONGC Cup National Football League championship match to be played at Nehru Stadium Fatorda tomorrow.

Though East Bengal are placed second with 28 points from 14 matches, one point behind Mahindra United, it appears to be well balanced on paper.however, the red and golds can hardly afford to be complacent as Salaocar are known for their steady approach.

Salgaocar coach Savio Madeira said, ''we are desperatly in need of points to avoid relegation.'' His main concern is the form of their strikers, who could not convert their chances into goals, but the coach is confident that they will over power East Bengal with home support tomorrow and snatch points. Playing infront of home crowd could serve the tonic for the team.

In the first leg, both played out 1-1 draw, Mr Madeira added.

Salgaocar looked a jaded lot, going by their peformance so far. Out of the 12 outings, they have only one win to thier creidt with 5 draws and 6 defeats and a point tally of only 8 points in their kitty.

If the home team desires to salvage some prestige they would have to go for ateast a draw and for that they would have to erect a rock solid defence and also have to keep special vigil on for East Bengal mercurial striker Bhaichung Bhutia, who is the highest scorer so far in the NFL with 11 goals to his credld name.

East Bengal coach Phillipe de Ridder said his team is playing well. It is just that they need to win against Salgaocar in the crucial tie tomorrow to regain their position at the top and also to strengthen their chances of winning the NFL title.

He said playing against Goan team in front of their home crowd will be a challenging affair. Salgaocar are a tough team but rated Sporting club, whom they meet next, as an even tougher opponent.

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