Resurgent Black Panthers eager to sustain momentum against Neroca FC

Kolkata, 28 April 2016

Photo Credits: Mohammedan Sporting Club

Mohammedan Sporting Club will be looking to build on their impressive 3-1 win over Gangtok Himalayan SC when they host Neroca FC in the I-League 2nd Division tomorrow. The final round fixture at Mohammedan Sporting Club Ground will be the last home game of the season for Mohammedan SC, thus the Black Panthers eager to finish their home campaign on the winning note.

To begin with Subrata Bhattacharya’s (Jr.) side had a bit of a wobble as FIFA scrapped three points from their tally which followed by a disappointing 1-2 loss to Minerva Academy FC and also dropped points against Dempo SC, but the Kolkata outfit has shown recent signs of recovery after a resounding win over Gangtok Himalayan SC last weekend with James Moga scoring a hat-trick.

With a couple of games in hand, Mohammedan SC (4 pts) have already fallen nine points behind the leaders Dempo (13 pts) and coach Bhattacharya knows it very well that any further slip-up will literally crush Mohammedan SC’s chances of making into the Hero I-League.

“The league has virtually became a knockout affair for us and we know exactly where we are right now. There is no other option tomorrow except win and boys are determined to prove a point more than ever before,” coach Bhattacharya said at the pre-match briefing.

Photo Credits: Mohammedan Sporting Club

However, the task at hand won’t be an easy for the hosts, though Neroca FC come into the game after a 0-3 loss to Dempo in Goa, but the Gift Raikhan coached side have played some spirited football in the competition and garnered 8 points from 5 games.

Going into the game the visitors will be relying on Nigerian Chinedu Ejiogu Emmanuel to lead their front-line and the likes of Sushanth Matthew, Govin Singh, Tomba Singh, David Ngaihte and Raju Yumnam will add depth to the squad.

“With the names they have on their side Neroca FC will be a tough opponent and they will not give away anything easily but the boys are well prepared to face the challenge. We hope for a good game to end the home campaign and go into the away games high on confidence.” coach Bhattacharya added.

On the team news front, Mohammedan SC will be missing services of Lancine Toure, Nagen Tamang and Manish Maithani. While Toure and Nagen has been ruled out due to double booking Mathani is out for personal reasons.

The last time when these two sides meet three months ago, it was Mohammedan SC who came out victorious with a 1-0 win at the very same venue where the match will be played tomorrow. A record which will be boosting team's morale.

Nevertheless, a win on the morrow may not lift Mohammedan SC higher in the table but would definitely give them some confidence ahead of five consecutive away fixtures. The match at Mohammedan Sporting Club Ground kicks off at 3.00 pm on Friday.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
12 December 2015 (Imphal): Neroca FC 2 (Joseph Ikechukwu & M. Ashok Singh) vs Mohammedan SC 1 (Ajay Singh)
16 January 2016 (Kolkata): Mohammedan SC 1 (M. Basanta Singh) vs Neroca FC 0