Mohan Bagan to clash with Churchill Brothers in Goa tomorrow

Margao, Dec 15 (UNI) Placed third, Durand Cup Champions Churchill Brothers will seek to capaitalise on home advantange when they lock horns with Kolkata's Mohan Bagan in their sixth round ONGC I-League Championship match to be played here at the Nehru Stadium, Fatorda tomorrow.

The mood in the Churchill camp is quite upbeat. Having won their last match against East Bengal on home ground would definitely give them a psychological advantage against Bagan.

Churchill at the moment with nine points, from five outings so far, are placed third in the league table with three wins and two defeats. It ranks below table toppers defending champions Dempo with 13 points and JCT with 11 points from an equal number of outings.

On the other hand, Mohan Bagan with four points from a single victory against Air India and a draw out of five outings are precariously placed and are in desperate need of points to remain in contention.

If Bagan desires to salvage some prestige, they would have to make special vigilance arrangements for Churchill's prolific strikers Odafe and Iyomi, who can spell doom for the visitors.

Churchill has a good attacking line-up, spearheaded by Nigerian Odafe Okolie with five goals including a hat trick in the last match against East Bengal. The other forward is Mboyo Iyomi, who has three goals to his credit.

The new recruits midfielders Osbakalu, Genius Zenith, Khenthang Paite and Raisangmi Vashum can play an important role.

As usual, Mohan Bagan would depend heavily on striker Bhaichung Bhutia, Douglas D'Silva, Jose Ramirez Barreto, James Singh, N S Manju and S Venkatesh to deliver the goods.

Churchill Coach Karim Bencherifa said, ''Boys are upbeat after win against East Bengal in the last match and we hope to put up similar performance in all the remaining matches.'' UNI