MUMBAI, January 22: Bimal Ghosh and Sukhwinder Singh have been good friends for years. But the two will line up on opposite sides of the Cooperage battlefield when they clash in the National Football League (NFL), here, tomorrow -- the former as coach of local league champions Air-India (A-I) and the latter as the mastermind of holders Jagatjit Cotton Textiles (JCT).Air-India is going great guns. They have not lost a match and are occupying the fourth slot in the positions position.
Their defence, comprising international Jeevan Moras, Ajay Acharya, Subir Sinha and Khambiton Singh, has been solid. Even top strikers like Chima Okerie, Dipendu Biswas, Bhaichung Bhutia and Bruno Coutinho have found the A-I defence quite formidable.
But Moras will have to sit out after being slapped with two yellow cards. Play-maker Godfrey Pereira is playing as well as he was last year, doing most of the distribution and destruction. But he and medio Taposh Ghosh are on the injury list. All these are factors which could
worry Ghosh.
But Ghosh is satisfied with his team's performance so far. "It's not that we play good football only at home matches. We also played a tremendous match against East Bengal in Calcutta. We almost won that match which ended in a 1-1 draw," said Ghosh.
On custodian Shyam Sawant's performance, Ghosh opined: "He is improving and is a lot more confident than at the beginning of the League."
Ghosh is more hopeful about the strikers. "Everybody is playing good and combining well. Anthony Fernandes, PJ Jose and Abbas Ali Rizvi can invade any defence wall," he said.
JCT, on the other hand, after a 3-0 verdict in the inaugural match against Churchill Brothers, had to wait for five matches to be on the winning side again. In their last match, Sukhwinder has to use all the weapons to help his team to a 1-0 win over Salgaocar in front of 40,000 spectators.
"The loss to Indian Bank and Mahindras could prove to be vital as the league is very competitive this year," opined Sukhwinder.
Even the
inclusion of Nigerian Stephen Abrawoi, hero of the NFL's first edition, has not paid dividends to the strike-force so far. Maybe, the sad loss of his two-year old son recently is still playing on his mind.
JCT coach has an option in the the forward-line which includes Jasvir Singh, Jaspreet Singh, Abdul Latif Seriki and Emeka Achelifu. The mid-field is tough with having international Harjinder Singh, Rovers Cup-find Hardip Singh and Bhupinder Singh, the lone goal-scorer against Salgaocar.
"JCT will have to go for full points as we can't afford to loose more points," said Sukhwinder.
The defence is marshalled by Kenyan international Mussa Aliu, seasoned Tarsem Lal, Harsharnjit Singh and Manjit Singh. Manjinder Singh, the right back, is as dangerous as any striker with his deadly overlapping runs and curling crosses. Custodian Arvind Kumar is performing skillfully and is still among the best available in the country. However, defensive lapses saw the side concede silly goals in the last few
matches.
"The team has been experiencing varying climatic conditions. In Phagwara, we didn't see sun for 20 days; Goa was more warmer than Mumbai; Chennai had a very dry weather and Kochin was something else," said Sukhwinder.
JCT assistant coach Parminder chipped in: "The Cooperage ground is hard and bouncy which requires more stamina and strength but it's certainly better than when we came here for the Rovers Cup. The team which controls the ball will win the game."
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
