Winless Mohun Bagan face resurgent Indian Arrows

Cuttack: Resurgent after defeating Shillong Lajong in their previous game, Indian Arrows will take on former champions Mohun Bagan in an I-League contest at the Barabati Stadium on Saturday.
The Arrows, to their pleasant surprise, find themselves above Mohun Bagan in the league table going into the game with three points from two matches. Mohun Bagan have two points from an equal number of games.
The Arrows were overwhelmed 1-4 in the I-League opener by table toppers Chennai City FC but did extremely well to bounce back with a win in their next game.
Mohun Bagan, on the other hand, have opened their campaign with two draws and will be smarting from the fact that they were in winning positions in both those games only to give it away. They will, however, also be enthused by the comeback of star Haitian winger Sony Norde, who played the last 30 minutes of the previous game and scored a brilliant goal as well.
Mohun Bagan coach Sankarlal Chakraborty however indicated that Sony was not ready to play the full 90 minutes yet.
“I am not totally dependent on Sony, but yes, after nine months, a player can’t be in a position to play 90 minutes. So I will see if he can play a little longer. I am focusing on all the players in my team,” he said.
The 18-man squad which travelled to Cuttack on Thursday had two changes, with medio Shilton Da Silva and left winger Abinash Ruidas replacing the veteran Mehtab Hussain and P.M. Britto.
“We drew the last match so we need to be extra careful this time. Indian Arrows are the youngest but an experienced team. The exposure trips that they got in recent years is remarkable and no one in Indian football has ever got that,” Chakraborty said. “It will be a tough match indeed and let us hope for the best.” (IANS)