Mohun Bagan Super Giant head coach Jose Molina remained confident of overcoming its Durand Cup quarterfinal opponent Punjab FC at the JRD Tata Sports Complex on Friday.
Both Mohun Bagan and Punjab are unbeaten with two wins and a draw from their group assignments.
Follow the match live here: Mohun Bagan SG vs Punjab FC LIVE SCORE, Real-time updates
Ahead of the match, Molina said, “Now is the stage of the competition where you play one match and you win it. It’s not easy. They [Punjab] have a good squad. We have been watching their matches against Kerala Blasters and Mumbai City FC in the Durand Cup. They have been playing well and it’s not easy to beat them. We have confidence in our team and we are playing really well. Hopefully, we can have a good match and get the victory.”
Veteran striker Luka Majcen will stand in the way of Mohun Bagan and a place in the semis. Since his arrival in India in 2020, Majcen has impressed in both the I-League and the ISL. Last season, he scored eight goals and set up two more. However, Molina said Bagan’s gameplan wouldn’t focus only on the Slovenian attacker.
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“Our plan is to play our football with our players to control the game and attack and defend in the best possible way. There won’t be a special plan focused on one specific player. We will play against Punjab and will prepare focusing on the whole team,” said the Spaniard.
On the team news, Molina said Australia forward Jamie Maclaren, midfielder Glan Martins and winger Ashique Kuruniyan will miss out in the quarterfinal. “Jamie Maclaren is still not available [registration]. Glan Martins didn’t train last four days and Ashique has been out for the last 7 days and is still not available,” he said.
Molina views the Durand Cup as a build-up exercise to when the Indian Super League (ISL) season starts. The Mariners are the defending Shield winners and will also be involved in the AFC Champions League Two next month.
“Now we are in pre-season where every match is like a preparation for us to be at our best when the season really starts. This [Durand Cup] is a competition we have to win and we are trying to do our best to win. But it’s still pre-season and we still have things to do and improve on. We will make sure we are really better when the ISL starts.”
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