After a draw against Peerless SC in their previous match in the Calcutta Football League (CFL), Mohun Bagan must get back to winning ways to keep their title challenge on track when they take on Tollygunge Agragami at the Mohun Bagan/CCFC ground on Sunday.
Coach Sankar Lal Chakraborty has his task cut out as his midfield and attack have struggled right through the tournament. Forward Henry Kisekka is yet to regain full match fitness but the coach hopes that within the next 24 hours things will get better.
"Henry is feeling a bit better. The doctors have advised him not to play for more than 20-30 minutes. We have 24 hours in hand. We will take a decision tomorrow. If I do not get Henry, there are others who can take his place," stated Chakraborty.
Mohun Bagan's midfield is an area of concern as it is evident that there is a lack of experience and quality. But the coach is not too perturbed by it. He remains adamant that senior players like Mehtab Hossain and Tirthankar Sarkar will not start and instead play a part in the latter stages of the match.
The team did light training with the ball on Saturday as they are playing close games. Kisekka trained with the squad for quite some time and later spent some time alone with the club physio. Abinash Ruidas is yet to gain full fitness. Sukhdev Singh has been ruled out for two weeks with a strain.
Chakraborty accepted that his team is losing concentration after going ahead and they were made to pay for the same reason in their last match.
"There is no scope for complacency. The goals are coming late and in the last three matches, I have noticed that we are losing concentration after going ahead. We must take the three points. We cannot afford to lose concentration. We must improve our pressing and convert the chances that we are creating," stated the former assistant to Sanjoy Sen.
On the other hand, Tollygunge Agragami is coached by veteran tactician Manoranjan Bhattacharya and Chakraborty is wary of the threat his opposite number posts. Mohun Bagan reject Kamo Bayi has also been roped in by Tollygunge alongside former Minerva Punjab striker Lago Bei. Daniel Bidemi is their third overseas player.
The squad looks formidable as former India national Ashim Biswas is expected to play a part along with experienced players like Rakesh Masih, Surajit Ghosh and skipper Goutam Kujur.
In the league opener against East Bengal which was abandoned due to unplayable conditions, Tollygunge came back from a goal down to level the score courtesy a strike from Lago set up by Bidemi. Since then, their performance has gone southwards as they have lost their next two fixtures against Pathachakra and Aryan.
There cannot be a perfect occasion to open their account in CFL.
Meanwhile, the India Football Association (IFA) has released the next set of fixtures of CFL. But Mohun Bagan has raised an objection to the schedule as they have to take on arch-rivals East Bengal on September 2, after being in action against Aryan on August 30. Coach Chakraborty also did not seem to be pleased with the dates.
"I have voiced my concerns to the club. The whole of India will be looking forward to the derby. The players must get sufficient rest before such kind of match. The club officials are doing whatever needs to be done," signed off Chakraborty.
Mohun Bagan possible XI: Sankar Roy; Arijit Bagui, Lalchhawnkima, Eze Kingsley, Abhishek Ambekar; Basant Singh, Shilton D'Silva, Sourav Das, William; Azharuddin Mallick, Aser Pierrick Dicka Dipanda .