East Bengal seek winning start

Gunning for a hat-trick of title triumphs, defending champions East Bengal are hoping for a "good start" against injury-ridden arch rivals Mohun Bagan in the inaugural match of the ninth National Football League at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday.

Buoyed by the recent triumph in the San Miguel Cup in Nepal, the red and gold brigade look confident of winning the lung opener despite lacking depth in the striking department that brought them rich dividends last season.

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"The derby match is always a 50:50 game. But we have a strong squad and are looking for a victory to make a good start to the ninth NFL," East Bengal skipper and custodian Sangram Mukherjee said on Tuesday.

While the absence of injury blues appeared reassuring for coach Subhas Bhowmick, the limited options available upfront and doubts over the match-fitness of mercurial striker Baichung Bhutia was cause for concern.

As the strike force lacks teeth in the absence of foreigners like Mike Okoro and the late Cristiano Junior, the three-time champions will have to bank on Brazilian midfielder Douglas da Silva and Nigerian Ernest Jeremiah, on loan from Ever Ready, to unsettle the rival citadel.

Mohun Bagan, on the other hand, are likely to play a cautious game in the opening tie in view of their reduced strength due to injury to key players like Renedy Singh, Sunil Chettri, Tomba Singh and Palash Karmakar.

Captain Manitombi Singh, however, termed the match as "a clash between equals" and referred to the luck factor that often influences the outcome.

Manitombi also attributed the defeats in the finals of four consecutive tournaments to luck.

"We played well and reached the finals, but were unlucky not to win titles."

The green and maroon squad, who tried in vain to hire a quality foreigner through repeated trials this season, would have to stick to the not-so-impressive Brazilian duo of Eduardo Coelho and Beto.

Its latest inclusion - Nigerian defender Babalade, who arrived in Kolkata on Monday, is unlikely to be fielded in the opening tie, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Coach Subrata Bhattacharjee will bank on his creative midfield comprising the likes of Jerry Zirsanga, Basudeb Mondal and Mehtab Hossain while Ashim Biswas would be the mainstay upfront.

Both the Kolkata giants expressed happiness with the initiatives taken by the AIFF to provide adequate medical facilities on the ground during the matches following the on-field death of Junior.

"We are getting this type of medical facilities for the first time. It's good for the players," Singh said.

The coaches also welcomed the initiative to raise welfare funds from ticket sales of the opening match for family of Junior, who died during the Federation Cup final last month.