Kolkata: Back to winning ways after a gap of two matches, East Bengal will hope to continue the momentum when they take on a depleted Churchill Brothers at the Vidyasagar Krirangan in Barasat on Saturday.
Beginning with a 2-2 draw against defending champions Aizwal Fc, the Red and Gold landed in big trouble after losing the important Kolkata derby. Matters have however settled for the moment with a 5-1 thrashing of Lajong at home and coach Khalid Jamil spoke of carrying this winning momentum into the next set of matches.
“We are targetting full three points against Churchill tomorrow. We have to win all matches. Churchill Brothers are a tough opponent. They are yet to win a single game so they will be desparate for victory,” said the former Mumbai City gaffer at the pre-match conference.
The title winning coach has come under the scanner for regularly playing Trinidad and Tobago striker Willis Plaza, despite the latter’s lack of form that has cost the team big in crucial moments. Jamil however once again stood by the player. “I tell Plaza to try hard. I am sure goals will come. He is training very hard and giving his best. You have to be patient. To me the most important thing is to win matches,” said the 40-year-old defending his ‘blue-eyed boy.’
As for the striker himself, Plaza believed ‘luck’ is all he need to find his scoring boots again. “Everyone needs luck to win. If we get three points I’ll be happy. I got confidence after last game as we won. It doesn’t matter if I score or a defender scores. As long as we win I am happy. I will be sad if the team lose and I don’t score,” he added.
Churchill Brothers on the other hand have no such momentum with them having failed to collect a single point, leave behind a win. The ‘Red Machines’ despite impressive initial starts have always faltered in crucial junctures of the match leading to the sacking of coach Mykola Shevchenko after just two round of matches.
“It is very difficult when a team concede 5 goals. We had a bad day in office against Mohun Bagan. The last match we played, one mistake cost us the match. Kingfisher East Bengal are a good team like Mohun Bagan. It is an incentive for the players to perform against big team”, said standby manager Alfred Fernandes ahead of the match.
“Last year also we started badly. It takes time to settle the players as they are getting used to formations and tactics,” said the Goan also informing that back-to-back away matches have a taken a toll on the players’ fitness, while injury concerns also remain the team.
Drawing confidence from Shillong Lajong who snatched a draw against Mohun Bagan after a 5-1 battering at the hands of East Bengal, Fernandes concluded, “When we go to the field every team is confident. Lajong bounced back yesterday after conceding five and it is a good example. Tomorrow we can come out with heads high.”