Second-string Bagan face Blasters challenge
Mohun Bagan Super Giant will begin their quest for another trophy this season when they take on Kerala Blasters in the quarterfinals of Kalinga Super Cup in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.
Unlike the other quarterfinalists, ISL league and Shield champions will be playing their first match of the tournament at Kalinga Stadium, having got a bye in the pre-quarterfinals after Churchill Brothers withdrew from the tournament.
While missing out on match practice in the hot and humid Bhubaneswar weather might pose a disadvantage for the Kolkata giants, especially with their match scheduled for an afternoon 4:30 pm fixture, Mohun Bagan will also be without their talismanic foreigners, who guided their winning league outing this season.
Instead, a second-string Bagan side will take the field, led by
Deepak Tangri
, with former Portugal U21 international Nuno Reis the sole foreign player in the squad. Assistant coach Bastab Roy will take charge in place of the decorated Jose Molina.
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It will be a chance for Indian attackers like Ashique Kuruniyan and Sahal Abdul Samad, who struggled for game time in ISL, to take centre-stage. "This tournament we are treating as an exposure for the young guys – as well as some of the seniors – and to find out how they can perform in the long run," Bagan assistant coach Roy said at the pre-match press conference.
They will, however, face a Blasters side that is high on confidence after their 2-0 victory over another Kolkata club – East Bengal – in the pre-quarterfinals.
Blasters coach David Catala is aware of the loyal fans' desire for the club's first trophy but, despite starting his stint with a big win, would not want to ponder on that goal and take every match in its own stride
"To start thinking about trophies right now is, for me, not right. It's not helping anyone, and we need to just focus on the task tomorrow (Saturday)," Catala said while clarifying that he has a full squad at his disposal, despite Adrian Luna missing out on Friday's practice session.
In the evening fixture on Saturday, India coach Manolo Marquez will get the chance to keep alive his hopes of ending his FC Goa stint with a trophy when they face Punjab FC.
His team bounced back from the ISL semifinal heartbreak with a commanding win over Gokulam Kerala in their first fixture of the competition riding on a hat-trick from Spanish striker Iker Guarrotxena.
They will be up against a Punjab side that changed the story of their 10th-place ISL finish with a dominating 3-0 last-16 win over Odisha FC. They will also be boosted by the return of star striker Luka Majcen, who missed the opener with injury.
"In ISL, it's always been difficult against Punjab FC. This season, we were lucky to win in Fatorda, and then we won 1-0 away. I expect it to be a very even game tomorrow (Saturday)," was Marquez's assessment of the game at the media interaction on Friday.
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