McDowell Mohun Bagan look to avenge defeat

21-Jan, 2012

Mariners who suffered a shocking 3-2 defeat in the hands of Prayag United in the 1st leg of I-League 2011-12 will look to avenge the defeat when these 2 teams meet at the Salt Lake Stadium tomorrow in a16th round encounter of I-League.

McDowell Mohun Bagan returned with mixed fortunes from Goa, defeating the mighty Churchill Brothers on one hand and losing 3 points against a relatively weaker opponent Sporting Clube da Goa, on the other.
Odafa Okolie was unwell before the last match but as a true team man played for 80 minutes before being substituted. He will be playing tomorrow's match.


There is a bit of uncertainty regarding whether Jewel Raja will be able to play tomorrow. Both Rahim Nabi and Jose Barreto did not attend the practice session today, though Jose Barreto has a 50-50 chance of playing, while Rahim Nabi is completely ruled out of tomorrow's match.
The Mariners did not get the service of Jewel Raja in the last match while Rahim Nabi injured his nose and was replaced within the first 20 minutes. The only silver lining is a fully fit Ashim Biswas who will be in the starting line-up in all probability.

Another welcome presence on the field was Sunil Chhetri, who was seen resuming his training after his injury during the SAFF Cup. Chhetri, however, would not be playing tommorow.


The goal scorer of the last match, Rakesh Masih, will not be able to play tomorrow having received his 2nd yellow card in the last match.


Jose Barreto had a rather poor outing in Goa, compared to his standard, when he missed at least 3 clear chances in the 2 matches, though he earned a penalty for Mariners against Churchill Brothers which was converted by Odafa Okolie to give McDowell Mohun Bagan 3 points. If fielded, he may be the striking partner of Odafa Okolie or may operate from a little deep.

Coach Prasanta Banerjee is optimistic about his team's victory against Prayag United tomorrow.
The match kicks off at 2 p.m.