The Hindu : Sport / Football : East Bengal eyeing quarterfinal spot

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Wednesday, Apr 16, 2008
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East Bengal eyeing quarterfinal spot

Principal Correspondent

KOLKATA: East Bengal will look to consolidate its position at the top of the table when it takes on Jordanian champion Al Wihdat in a fourth round group ‘B’ match of the AFC Cup at the Salt Lake Stadium on Wednesday.

After the 2-0 win in the first leg (away) on April 2, East Bengal coach Aloke Mukherjee was confident of repeating the result at home.

“This is the best opponent in our group. My boys are confident of repeating the result after beating them at home earlier in the month,” said Mukherjee. With six points from two successive wins — one at home against Ahli Sana’a (Yemen) and one away (Al Wihdat) — East Bengal has started dreaming of a quarterfinal spot. The team’s confidence has been boosted by the fact that it would be playing the next two rounds at home. It will clash with its closest challenger Safa SC (five points from three games) in the fifth round on April 30.“We have shown good form and I expect the boys to get the goals the way they have been doing in the previous two matches,” said Mukherjee.

The opposition camp, too, is keen for a win. “Our boys had been focusing on the home title (Jordanian league) before the last meeting against East Bengal.

Now that the home title is decided, we are hopeful of putting up a better performance here,” said Al Wihdat coach Zamal Mahmood.

East Bengal captain Alvito D’Cunha said that the team is in good form and shown the ability to adapt according to the situation.

PTI adds:

Meanwhile, I-League champion Dempo has a tough task on hand when it meets Bahrain’s Al Muharraq in the away match in the AFC Cup on Wednesday. The 4-0 drubbing at home by the same opponent on April 2 has seriously dented the Goan side’s chances of making it to the knock-out phase of the tournament.

To add to Dempo’s worries, midfielder Anthony Pereira and defender Valeriano Rebello are injured and have stayed home along with seasoned central defender Mahesh Gawli.

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