MARGAO: Title aspirants Dempo Sports Club will be aiming to consolidate their position at the top but JCT Mills Phagwara could prove to be a tricky opposition as the two former champions clash in an intriguing 18th round I-League match at the Nehru stadium, Fatorda Saturday evening.
Dempo’s flamboyant victory over defending champions Churchill Brothers had consolidated the capital city outfit’s position at the top of the league chart and three more points on Saturday could put the chasing pack behind the leaders under tremendous pressure. Dempo would go five points clear from second-placed Mahindra United with a win as the three-time champions have 32 points while Mahindra have 30.
Dempo were depleted to a certain extent in their last match after injuries to some of their stars but international troika of Samir Naik, Clifford Miranda and Anwar Ali have managed to shake off their injuries and will return to strengthen the squad. However, Mahesh Gawli has failed to recover and will be watching the match from the galleries. After serving a suspension, midfielder Peter Carvalho is also available but right wing back Valeriano Rebello has to sit out due to double booking and it can be assumed that Cresson Antao, who had a marvellous outing against Churchill, will be shifted on the right of the defence with Ali partnering John Dias against his former club.
With only some minor adjustments to be done and that to in the rearguard, chief coach Armando Colaco is most unlikely to change or swap places in the midfield where Climax, Anthony, Beto and Nicolau were devastating while Nigerian Ranty Martins and Joaquim Abranches both got their names on the scoresheet in the last league match.
Dempo look formidable but chief coach Armando sounded cautious about the opponents. "JCT are always unpredictable, you never know what they can do for you but they always play tough. We’ve to continue from the last match, it was a perfect result and I know the boys are ready for a repeat and we’ll get the points," Armando said.
JCT Mills have the tendency of producing some shocking results and it’s their physical approach and not only the unpredictability that instils fear in their opponents. The Punjabis arrived confident after remaining undefeated in the last four matches and coach Parminder Singh, who has taken over the reigns from hard taskmaster Sukwinder Singh, said his side will try to steal at least a point from their famed opponents.
"We know that we’re playing against the title contenders. Dempo are a very complete side with a lot of good players, so we’ll try our best to get something out of the match. We have a plan and I hope my players will perform as per the instructions and give a good fight to our opponents," Parminder said.
Dempo may enjoy the edge but their goalkeeper has been suspect and the visitors will surely try to exploit the weak link through Nigerian striker Emmanuel Okoro and India forward Baljit Singh Saini. The other two Nigerians, midfielder Pem Orji and defender Henry will also have their work cut out while goalkeeper Karanjit Singh is one individual that JCT will rely on for a good result.
