Mohun Bagan, staring at a worst ever top-flight performance in their history, will look to bounce back after a second Derby loss to arch-rivals East Bengal as Gokulam Kerala FC come calling on Wednesday at the Salt Lake Stadium.
The visitors are languishing at the 10th position, having garnered 11 points from their 13 games so far and despite bringing in Gift Raikhan as technical director and a couple of foreign strikers in Trinidadian Marcus Joseph and Ghanaian Charles Foley, they have not been able to get back to winning ways.
They have picked up just two points in their last six games and will need to punch way above the weight to put it over a much more solid Mohun Bagan.
The hosts did go down to East Bengal, but under new coach Khalid Jamil they had registered two wins before that and by and large have been far more consistent over the season when compared to their Wednesday visitors.
“Our last match was not good but we are looking to give our best. All the players are professionals so they are ready to play the match not thinking about the past. Football is a team game and no one person can be blamed for a loss. We must work hard as a team. Our aim is to get three points for every match we play now. The league is unpredictable as all the top five teams are good and can win the title,” Khalid said at the pre-match media conference on Tuesday.
As for the changes, Khalid would look to bring back Shilton D’Silva and Arijit Bagui, while their Japanese midfielder Yuta Kinowaki is likely to sit out with a calf muscle injury sustained just before Sunday’s kick-off.
Khalid conceded that the intensity was missing on Sunday, but he urged his players to move forward. “East Bengal looked more determined. We should learn from the mistakes and move on,” he said.
Gokulam Kerala FC will be banking on Marcus Joseph, the top scorer of the Trinidadian pro-league, coming in to score twice for his new club in two games.
Gokulam also have talent and potential in the likes of Arjun Jayaraj and Rajesh and can be a handful on their day.
“Football is not about winning or losing, but it is about good performance. Both the teams will fight and put up a good match.
“Mohun Bagan is good in attacking but we will be giving our best. Wednesday’s match is very important for us. We need the three points and hoping everything will go fine.”
The first leg clash is one of the reasons why Mohun Bagan find themselves in the position, sixth on the table, that they are in today — failing to close out key games in which they were on top.
However, on Wednesday, Bagan will go into the match as favourites.
Kick-off: 5 pm
