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Both Dempo and East Bengal welcome the return of their National team players, as they face each other at the Salt Lake Stadium today. Dempo is currently on top of the I-League with 21 points from 8 matches, 5 points ahead of Kingfisher East Bengal who have 16 points from 8 matches.
Head Coach of East Bengal Trevor Morgan said “It is an important match for us. We have to win this match and then we can close the gap on the table toppers, Dempo.” When asked if this was the El Classico of Indian Football Trevor said that he would rather think of it as a big match not an El Classico.
Armando Colaco on the other hand will have a full team to choose from and remained confident when he said “East Bengal are a good team, but this is not a do or die match for us. We will obviously go in to get the full 3 points, but if we cannot do that than it’s not the end of the world.”
Rival Coach Morgan is expecting a full team to choose from. Alan Gow had returned from Scotland and was seen at the behind closed doors practice session this morning but will probably not play a part in the match.
Dempo SC on the other hand practiced this morning at the Salt Lake stadium and got a feel of the artificial turf before the big match.
When asked about the form of Tolgay Ozbey off late, Dempo coach Armando Colaco quipped “We are a confident team and are well equipped it is not a concern for us. Even Ranty Martins is in good form for us”.
Tomorrow it will be seen whether Dempo SC can consolidate their position at the top of the I-League or East Bengal can close the gap on them.
Dempo SC vs Kingfisher East Bengal – Head to Head – I League:
Total Matches – 24
Kingfisher East Bengal Won – 9
Dempo Won – 6
Drawn – 6
Kingfisher East Bengal Goals – 38
Dempo Goals – 34
Last Two Meetings in I League
8.12.10 Dempo Club – 0 Kingfisher East Bengal – 1 – Margao
&n- bsp; &nb- sp; &nbs- p; – ; – (Tolgay Ozbey)
15.5.11 Kingfisher East Bengal – 3 Dempo Club – 2 – Kolkata
(Baljit Singh Sahni &n- bsp; &nb- sp; (Ranti Martins
Tolgay Ozbey-2) &nb- sp; &nbs- p; Beto – Pen)
