I-League: Salgacoar takes on DSK Shivajians

Salgaocar got a fresh breath of air after it won its last match against Shillong Lajong to move to fifth place with 12 points from 12 matches, the same as Mumbai FC, Shivajians and Aizwal FC. A win tomorrow will take the Goans to fourth place.

Coaches Santosh Kashyap and Derrick Pereira shake hands during a pre-match press conference.

Salgaocar FC would look to move to the top half of the table with a win when it takes on DSK Shivajians in an I-League match here tomorrow.

Salgaocar got a fresh breath of air after it won its last match against Shillong Lajong to move to fifth place with 12 points from 12 matches, the same as Mumbai FC, Shivajians and Aizwal FC. A win tomorrow will take the Goans to fourth place.

Meanwhile, a victory for Shivajians, which has played one match less than Salgaocar, will take the Pune-based team to fourth place, displacing Sporting club de Goa to fifth.

Shivajians goes it into the match with a win against East Bengal and will be looking to continue to keep the momentum going, something it has struggled to do throughout the campaign.

With skipper Dipanda leading the attack from the front and Douhou Pierre playing the role of an attacking midfielder, the visitor will be looking to breach the rival defence and make amends of its loss at home in the reverse fixture.

The two-week break would have helped both the teams to recover from injury. Goalkeeper Subrata Paul, who missed the last match due to a finger injury, is back in the side for the visitor. Duffy, who is the leading scorer for the home team, has also recovered from his groin injury.

Salgaocar, which won its first match against Shivajians under coach Santosh Kashyap, is expecting a tough fight tomorrow against the visitor.

“The win against East Bengal has raised our confidence and we will have to remain focus against them if we are to win tomorrow,” said coach Kashyap.

Shivajians’ coach Derrick Pereira too is expecting a tough challenge from his former club.

“The team is performing well after initial set back and tomorrow I am looking for an entertaining contest from both the sides. Playing under hot sun will be really challenging as we love to play under floodlight,” he said.

“We have struggled initially, not having much time to work with the players, especially those who played in the ISL.

“But now that the team is shaping well and doing good, I want them to continue to win and keep ourselves away from the relegation which is our main object,” stated Pereira.