I-League :Mohammedan Sporting vs Dempo SC

Match Review:

Mohammedan Sporting after a couple of draws looked to bag 3 points as they hosted Dempo SC on Sataurday evening at YBK stadium.

Coach under pressure to deliver started with Tolgay-Joshimar upfront while midfield was marshaled by Penn,Anthony, Isfaq ,Mashi and the backfour comprised of Lucioano-Mehraj ,Collin and Nirmal.

Dempo SC started with just one foreigner and beefed their line up with former Pailan Arrows young players as Prabir,Narayan Das,Pronoy Halder,Alwyn George and Holicharan Narzary all featured in their line up. 

Mohammedan Sporting started well as they pressed forward through Penn and Anthony Soren combining well on occassions as well as good overlapping play from Nirmal and Collin Abranches but Tolgay and Joshimar had a miserable evening as they failed to convert the moves to some attacking results in the final third. Penn and Soren did well to feed through balls to Tolgay but the out of form Aussie seemed to be scrambling for ideas to be in penetrative zone as his signature step-overs and inside outside moves were elementary for even young Narayan Das who easily choked the Aussie moves down the right.If Tolgay was miserable Joshimar wasn't far behind as both the strikers positioned themselves poles apart and the Dempo defenders had no problems dealing with one striker at a time as there was no combine link up play between the two strikers.Even if Joshimar used his height to control long balls but he had virtually no support to pass the loose second ball. However, the best chance of the match came to Tolgay Ozbey who controlled a ball in the six yard box and with only goalkeeper to beat volleyed the ball high and wide from the goal from an angle where it is virtually impossible to miss the target !!

Second half brought no changes to Mohammedan Sporting's fortune as Tolgay got another chance from a counter attack with one on one with just goalkeeper to beat but hit straight to him.

Dempo SC on the other hand lost Beto with injury within first 5 mins of the match and were playing with a young team. Jewel Raja and Cliford Miranda provided the push from Midfield as former Pailan duo of Alwyn George and Holicharan Narzary attacked from both flanks and Jeje played as a more central role.But Luciano and Mehraj used their physical presence to block any threat from Dempo as they missed their overseas players.

Holicharan made some good runs down the left flank and Alwyn used neat skills around the Mohammedan Sporting box but failed to test keeper Louis Barretto.

Coach Aziz made some changes as he was forced to bench Tolgay Ozbey and brought on Asim biswas and Mohammedan Sporting looked more dangerous on the attack. Asim weaved his way a couple of time through Dempo defence and created few openings and his remarkable left footer with 30 yards out was tipped over the bar by Dempo keeper.As Aziz desperate for a goal brought in Ajay Singh went on  4-3-3 formation to snatch a goal but created openings but failed to find the net.

With both teams missing few open chances the match ended in a goalless draw with the spectators gifted with a galore of misses which is becoming quite routine in Mohammedan Sporting games.

Coach Aziz need to work on his attacking options in final third as the team is playing well from defence to midfield but showing no penetrative threat in the final third.The fans would be looking for a more improved performance from their team as three consecutive draws could put pressure on Mohammedan Sporting as they are lined for more tough away games in coming legs of the I-League.

Final Score:Mohammedan Sporting 0-0 Dempo SC

I-League :28/11/2013:East Bengal vs United SC

Match Review:

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East Bengal faced their city rival United SC after the Big Derby with Mohun Bagan.After the hype and drama of the Mohun Bagan derby East Bengal were faced with a battle within a battle to overcome the complacency to put in a solid performance against United SC club who have grown a reputation of creating upsets to it's bigger city rivals.
East Bengal struggling with injuries to key players as Mehtab Hossian was sidelined along with James Moga.
Coach Armando Colaco kept the same back four as Uga and Arnab paired in the heart of defence and Soumik and Naoba played as side backs.Midfield was marshaled by Sueoka-Dika-Lobo-Mama and Khabra played as blocker. Sueoka played in a slight upfront role behind Chidi,who played as the lone striker.
On the other hand Coach Elcho Schattorie known for his tactical formations played with Anupam and Belo as central defence,Dhanachandra and Dipak Mondal as side backs.Hassan the Syrian defender was given a the role of a defensive screen between the back line and midfielders manly to counter the link up play of strong East Bengal attacking midfielders. Midfield was drafted with Tapan Maity as blocker,Vinneth down the middle behind Ranty,Snehasish down the left and Shouvik down the right.
As the match progressed East Bengal, looked to press forward as the midfield duo of Dika and Lobo combined well in occasions but Edeh Chidi was left without supporting striker and at times left to do more than enough  in the strong closing down formation of the United midfielders.
The moment of the game game in 25' when Chidi was released from midfield for a brilliant through ball from Sueoka as the striker rounded off keeper Ishant Debanth was clearly tripped in the box by the davancing Goalkeeper but to the surprise of the entire stadium,Chidi was booked for diving and no penalty was given.
But it was soon that East Bengal got their goal on 31' when Soumik Dey attacking from the left flank found Chidi Edeh unmarked on the left side of the box whose powerful grounder  beat the keeper and went through the net.
The first half ended without any further events as East Bengal had a few freekicks around the box but failed to convert them.
As the second half progressed United looked more of a transformed side as they took control of the midfield, Vinneth,Asif,Rafiq,Shouvik stringed numerous passes between themselves as they controlled the game and maintined very good shape,East Bengal was made to workl hard and fight for possession. Though Eric Brown's absence was felt since Ranty was not getting enough support around the box, still the midfield domination kept United in the game.Finally as they kept pressing forward they were rewarded with a goal from a corner around the hour mark as Dhanachandra Singh rose high and strong in the far post to head in a powerful goal to make 1-1.
As East Bengal kept losing the control of the match Armando was forced to change to 4-3-3 formation as he brought on Baljit and Semil Lane in the final quarter but United SC defence held strong especially Hassan and Belo showed good undertsanding and thwarted any threat from Chidi or Baljit.
The highlight of the game was surely the chances missed by East Bengal in the final 15 mins as the first chance fell to Suoeka who found himself with only keeper to beat with a qucik counter attack but surprisingly failed to hit the target as tried to aim for top net hit in high and wide and then came the miss that worth "2 points" for East Bengal. As the ball scrambled in United SC box Chidi's shot was blocked by his fellow striker Baljit Sahni and then Chidih just 6 yards out failed to put the ball in the net as his powerful aerial shot hit the cross piece and went out.
The match ended 1-1 with spoilt shared and East Bengal were left to rue their missed chances as they left 2 points from their home match at the crucial junction of I league after which they begin their away leg of I league playing 5away games.

Final Score:

East Bengal 1-1 United SCEdeh Chidi        Dhanachandra Singh

I-League 27/11/2013: Mohun Bagan VS Mohammedan Sporting

Match Review:

Just two days after the derby loss to arch rival East Bengal Mohun Bagan played their next match as they hosted Mohammedan Sporting  on a midweek "other derby" of Kolkata.Karim Bencherifa made three changes in his starting line up as Sandip replaced injured Shilton under the bar,Eche made his way in the team in place of Rowilson Rodriguez and Manish Bharghav came in place of Sabeeth.
Mohammedan Sporting coach Aziz started with Tolgay upfront as lone striker supported by Jerry Zirsanga and Ishfaq Ahmed on both flanks.Penn as playing from box to box midfielder's role supported by Rakesh Mashi as the blocker and Anthony Soren as a attacking medio.
Luciano-Mehraj,Collin Abranches-Nabi formed a formidable back four.Both teams played a failry open game for 90 minutes but off form Tolgay and a fitness deprived Odafa struggled to find their old form as both of them looked pretty ordinary.Tolgay looked out of ideas every time he had the ball while Odafa on the other end was looking like a old war horse with battle scars as he limped and crawled in the opponents half  for most of the match.Katsumi has not yet lived upto the expectation of his last season with ONGC as he failed to connect with Odafa. Mohammedan Sporting midfield looked more threatening as Ishfaq aand Anthony provided pace and momentum moving forward while Penn Orjii was talisman in Mohammedan Sporting midfield with neat skills and box to box midfield abaility.Rakesh Mashi did his defensive job well and occasionally pushed forward to give Mohammedan Sporting  attacks more options with his long range shooting skills.
As the match progressed Odafa played the ball to Eric as he unleashed a thundering strike with his left foot which flew past the cross bar,Odafa had few good chances inside the box but the striker who would have "proverbially" tore the net apart produced some uncharacteristic weak shots which were either wide or easily saved by goalkeeper Louis Barreto.Tolgay got one great chance to put his team on lead but he too drove it wide past the goalpost.
Probably the best chance of the match came to Ajay Singh in injury time of 90+ minutes as found empty space on the right side of the box on "one -on-one" situation  but he too shot it wide.Coach Aziz fielded a surprise selection in his starting XI as he left out Joshimar the seasons top scorer and preferred an off form and low on confidence Tolgay for 80 mins.
As both teams lost plenty opportunities the Coaches of both the teams will have lot to worry about their goal scoring options with Odafa still searching for mach fitness and some goals to get back to his lethal best and Australian Tolgay whose performance graph has been falling to an all time low since he left East Bengal two seasons back !

Final Score:

Mohun Bagan 0-0 Mohammedan Sporting

The Big Derby :Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal(24/11/2013)

Match Review:

Season's first derby had all the settings of a perfect showdown as Mohun Bagan hosted East Bengal in perfect November evening under the mystical lights at the monstrous Salt Lake stadium. 85000 odd attendance both teams armed to teeth and desperate to gain bragging rights of their arch rivals.
Mohun Bagan Coach Karim Bencherifa had to slot in someone for Echezona as the Nigerian defender missed out due to Red Card suspension from last game.
Karim Bencherifa known for his tactical shrewdness paired Aibor and Rowilson as central defenders and Pritam Kotal and Shouvik Ghosh were the side backs, his tactical move was to play Defender Kinshuk Debnath as a defensive blanket screen infront of the back fore to adsorb the attacking threat of Chidi and Sueoka .Denson played as a holding medio while Katsumi was playing down the left flank had a special assignement to stop East Bengal right back Naoba from overlapping and Sabeeth on the right flank,Odafa and Eric formed the upfront duo. Mohun Bagan got an earlky chance as Eric Muranda was relased with a brilliant through ball from Odafa from the midfield but the Kenyan  striker  failed to hit the target.
Mohun Bagan defense looked compact but East Bengal's midfield had more creative options in form of Sueka-Dika-Lobo while Khabra and Mehtab were brilliant defending as well as pushing forward whenevr needed to put Mohun Bagan defence under pressure.Lobo and Sueoka had some creative moments and presented good creative football in the midfield while Dika and Khabra provided threat with their off the ball runs to increase men while pushing and with their occasional long rangers.
Despite all odds and without the athletic defender Eche,Mohun Bagan defence looked pretty solid especillay Aibor was good with heading and covering to Edeh Chidi,Rowlison was good with his tackles and intercepts and the star performer was Pritam Kotal who had a busy day on his derby debut and showed expetional defending as well as his overlapping skills.Sueoka got the best chance for East Bnegal as he found the goalkeeper at his mercy with one-on-one situation but an alert Shilton Paul rushed forward to deny Riuji Sueoka a definite goal
With Chidi stifled for space East Bengal looked to press forward with their attacks from both flanks as Dika and Lobo looked threatninng and they took control of the midfield.Odafa and Eric had few odd chances but their fitness was under microscope as they failed to create any clear cut openings with close marking from Arnab and Mehtabs' double covering. As first half ended goalless second half started with more open play as both sides looked to steal  goal. Second half saw some changes, as Mama came on for an injured Tulunga and then came the moment of the match ! Dika found some open space 30 yards out as Denson failed to closed down on him and the Mizo wonderboy unleashed a powerful left footer which dipped to perfection as a diving Shilton failed to punch it over-A world Class Goal and the moment of individual briiliance that made all the difference. Odafa too had his moment as he shrugg off a challenge from Opara and went into the box with the entire East Bnegal defence trying to stop him eventually smothered his way through the defenders and found himself infront of the Goalkeeper but failed to score as he hit the ball at an easy height for goalkeeper Abhjit Mondal to save it.
Mohun Bagan Coach tried all his tricks to find an equalizer as Ram Malik and Shankar Oraon were thrown off but East Bengal managed to hold off to the lead and the Ferguson of Indian football  Mr.Armando Colaco tasted his first Kolkata Derby win in his first match as the Coach of East Bengal.
Both team played good football and the goalkeepers of both the teams had a busy day under the bar but at the end Dika's wonder goal was the highlight of the game as the young Mohun Bagan team showed a brave effort with young brigade but had to end in a losing side ! A great Derby game for the spectators and 03 important points for East Bengal was testified by Dika's world class goal .

Final Score:

Mohun Bagan 0-1 East Bengal                           

                              (Lalrindika Ralte)

I-League:23/11/2013: Mohameddan Sporting vs Churchill Brothers

Match Review:

As I league returned after the International FIFA match day break the action shifted to YBK stadium where Mohammedan Sporting Club hosted Churchill Brothers.Churchill Brothers have been a shadow of their last season and has done little to look like defending champions with no wins in 8 games and languishing at the bottom of the table.
Mohammedan Sporting Club was bolstered by inclusions of their new recruits of Ishfaq,Mehraj but the poor form of Tolgay and Joshimar remained a matter of concern for the coach.
Churchill looked for a change in fortunes as they handed debut to their Syrian striker Yasser Shahen who looked impressive and played some good one-two play and combined well with Bineesh Balan.
Mohammedan Sporting Club's fortune depended a lot on Penn Orji  the engine of the team as made some good runs down the middle but failed combine with the striking duo upfront and lacked finishing in the attacking third.Israel Gurung  and Ishfaq tried to get the flanks moving but Churchill had a formidablke midfield force led by Lenny and supported by Micky which choked the Mohammedan Sporting attack and cut the supply line for Tolgay and Joshimar de Silva.
On the other hand ,Churchill T.D Subhash Bhowmik tried all trick in his bag to create some opening but Mohammedan Sporting defence stood firm as Luciano-Mehraj-Gagandeep did well to hold off any threat.
The match left much disappointment to the home fans as their team looked lacklustre throughout 90 mins barring few moments of brilliance from Penn.
A goalless draw and a dull encounter  gave one point each as Mohammedan Sporting Club remained on 7th position with 11 points. Churchill have much work to do as they head for the Christmas break for the I league and they need to get going or else it could be a marathon climb for the defending champions in this edition of I league.
Final Score:

Mohammedan Sporting Club 0-0 Churchill Brothers

I-League 2013-14:06/11/2014 Mohammedan Sporting vs Mumbai FC

Match Review:

Mohammedan Sporting hosted Mumbai FC at YBK Stadium in the 9th round of I League encounter before I league goes into the mini break.It was a pretty dull game by all means as both sides displayed some listless football that lacked usual flare and pace.
Mohammedan Sporting fielded a strong squad,though Tolgay was benched due to his poor run of form.Sandip,GagandeepAnthony Soren and Luciano formed a solid back four as Rakesh Mashi played as defensive screen while Penn Orji,Collin Abranches and Israel Gurung were the attacking midfield options and Ajay Singh paired with Joshimar upfront.
Mumbai FC coach Khaleed Jameel had the Afghan force in Mumbai's foreigners lineup as he started with all four of them with Haroon Amiri playing in defence and Ahmad Hatife in the central midfield .Sandjar Ahmadi and Barkatzai paired upfront.
Luciono and Anthony Soren played an inspiring game as they shielded off all attacks from the towering Afghan forwards.Penn was good on the ball and was the fulcrum of Mohammedan Sporting force from the midfield while Israel Gurung and Collin Abranches kept the attack through the flanks going.
Mohammedan Sporting broke the deadlock on 34th minute when Mohammedan Sporting was awarded a penalty and Joshimar made no mistake to convert it from the spot.
Mumbai FC tried to come back into the match and looked dangerous on odd movement as Barkatzai and Sandjar combined well and took few chances but Mohammedan GK made some good saves to deny Mumbai FC a chance to equalize.
Luciano was particularly impressive with his heading and tackling and his presence and leadership gave solidarity to Mohammedan back-line and looked impregnable.Even the sharp moves of and good one two play between the Afghan forwards were intercepted well and there was good covering and blocking by Sandeep Sangha and Anthony Soren.
Penn and Israel missed few easy chances to increase the lead while second half substitute,Tolgay's horror run of frm continued.The Aussie looked short of confidence and lacked imagination in his play and made no impact with whatsoever as his trademark run down the flank or touch off the ball eluded him for sometime now. Ishfaq too looked rusty and Manish Maithani made no telling contribution being brought on.
Mohammedan managed to hold on to the slender lead as they closed game with valuable 3 points.

Final Score:

Mohammedan Sporting 1-0 Mumbai FC

Joshimar(penalty)-33'

Wim Koevermans names squad for November Friendlies VS Phillipines and Nepal.

National Coach Wim Koevermans has announced his squad of 21 Players for India’s two International Friendlies which are scheduled in November 2013. India first play Philippines on November 15 followed by Nepal on November 19.

The list is as follows:

GOALKEEPERS: Karanjit Singh (Salgaocar SC), Subhashish Roychowdhury (Dempo SC), Arindam Bhattacharya (Churchill Brothers).

DEFENDERS: Denzil Franco (Churchill Brothers), Nicolau Colaco (Salgaocar SC), Arnab Mondal (East Bengal), Aibhorlang Khongjee (Mohun Bagan), Raju Gaikwad (East Bengal), Gurjinder Kumar (Pune FC), Narayan Das (Dempo SC).

MIDFIELDERS: Mehtab Hossain (East Bengal), Lenny Rodrigues (Churchill Brothers), Lalrindika Ralte (East Bengal), Arata Izumi (Pune FC), Francis Fernandes (Salgaocar SC), Clifford Miranda (Dempo SC), CK Vineeth (United SC, Victorino (Sporting Clube de Goa).

FORWARDS: Dawson Fernandes (Sporting Clube de Goa), Sunil Chhetri, Robin Singh (both Bengaluru FC).
STANDBYES: Shilton Paul, Rowilson Rodrigues, Gurwinder Singh, Shouvik Ghosh, Rocus Lamare, Malswamtulunga, Tsewang Karma, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Denson Devdas.

Source:AIFF media

I-League:02/11/2014:United SC vs Churchill Brothers

Match Preview:

After a loss in the previous game United SC looked to turned their fortune as they hosted Churchill Brothers.
Both teams are having a poor run of form in I league,Churchill especially after a poor opening run of games and Churchill TD Subhash Bhowmik returned to Churchill dug out after the success of last season.
On the other hand United missed out few of their key players in the form of Lalkamal,Rafiq and Sangram.
As the game started Churchill looked to take control of the game as United were forced to defend deep in their own half.The midfield trio of Alesh-Bineesh and Lenny combined well and used the flanks as well as Denzil overlapped mostly from left and Churchill looked dangerous from onset as their forwards Hugo and Balwant looked threatening. Hugo had a few chances early in the game.
Hugo was impressive with his deft touches and neat chips and showed good combination play with Bineesh and could have opened the goal mouth early.
The opening goal came at 25' as Alesh sprinted down the left flank and chipped the ball beautifully into the United SC box and an unmarked Balwant headed in the first goal.United looked to build up play through Vinneeth-Shouvik and Eric but the defensive screen of Churchill of Lenny and Micky jelled well to thwart any threatening attack of United. 
Ranty was marked closely by Hammad and Ravannan and they used double covering to deny Ranty any space to twist or turn.With compact defensive formation as Churchill midfielders dropped deep to defend in numbers,United SC lost the attacking ideas in the attacking third as their strikers were choked for space and the defenders closed on well.Though Shouvik and Vinneth tried to use the width to deliver balls to Ranty and Eric the Churchill defenders used their height well to deny any scoring opportunities.Churchill led 1-0 at the break.
After the half time,Churchill scored their second goal through Balwant and made it 2-0 as United were left with a mountain to climb to salvage anything from the game.
As United pushed forward they were rewarded with a few corners and goal came from one of the corner as goalkeeeper Arindam failed to clear the ball and Vineeth picked up the ball in the commotion and tuned it in to Churchill net to reduce the margin.Elcho made some tactical change bringing in Jayanta Sen and young Biswajit Biswas and United looked a change side.Churchill looked to sit on their glory of two goals as they looked to defend the lead.United were finally rewarded wth an equalizer as Ranty Martins headed in a perfect cross from Eric Broen from the left to make it 2-2.Jayanta Sen's arrival added solidity to United midfield as Jayanta-Vineeth and Shouvik took control of midfield and Churchill looked as if they lost the plot.
Substitute Biswajit came close to scoring as his shot went wide and finally United SC completed their amazing comeback as they scored the third goal from their talisman striker Ranty Martins- a corner from Bisawajit was met perfectly at the first post and the ball was glanced to the back of the net as a hapless Arinadam and Churchill brothers stood in disbelief.Score 3-2 and with couple of minutes remaining,frustration crept in Churchill camp as Denzil Franco was shown a direct Red Card for a rash tackle.United SC were happy to retain possession and close the game on a high with a 3-2 win being 2-0 down.

Tactical Note:

Churchill managed a two goal lead through brilliant holding and formation play but they seemed to lose the plot as the game progressed.Churchill neither went all out to increase the lead or closed the game with retaining and defending strongly.The players were coaxed into comfort zone with the 2-0 lead as post break United showed some intent to get back into the game.
Elcho Schattorie triumphed over Subhash Bhowmik in the tactical fight as his second half substitution of bringing in Jayanta and Biswajit worked beautifully as they took control of the midfield.United were impressive in their corners and set piece as two of their corners came from the eight corners they managed to win. 

Final Score:

United SC 3-2 Churchill Brothers(Vineeth,Ranty-02) (Balwant-02)

I-League 2013-14: 01/11/2014: East Bengal vs Salgaocar FC

Match Review :

East Bengal's roller coaster ride continues as they slumped to another home defeat to Goan side Salgaocar FC at Kalyani stadium on Friday.East Bengal was shocked early by quick Salgaocar attack as they conceded two early goals and were 2-0 within 10 minutes of the match.

The first goal came at 8 minutes when a quick counter attack move from midfield saw Darrel Duffy finding empty space near EB box and his low drive was saved by Abhijit Mondal but the rebound fell nicely to the foot of right winger Karma Thiley who placed it neatly at the back of the net. Before East Bengal could recover from this shock East Bengal's midfield again caught napping and the left the flood gates open and Salgaocar medio Francis Fernandes had acres of space to surge forward and brilliantly lobbed the ball at the back of the end over an advancing Abhjit Mondal.The East Bengal players and fans were deflated being 2-0 down so early.

Both the goals contributed to lapse of East Bengal midfield as their attacking and holding midfielders could not hold the shape of the team and were scattered with poor off the ball positioning.

There was no attempt to close down on the attacking Salgaocar midfielders and attacking midfielders failed to track back as a result the Salgaocar midfielders dominated midfield play through out the 90 minutes.

Salgaocar Coach Derek Perreira normally plays a very solid formation in away game with 4-5-1 formation.Rocus Lamare and Gilbert normally plays as holding medio while Frances Fernandes and Karma Tsewang along with their U-23 player Clifim Dias were attacking options and also linked up as attacking wing halfs to assist lone striker Darrel Duffy.Chika Wali and Augustin Fernandes forms a solid combo at the back.

Salgaocar displayed perfect away game discipline being solid at the back,increasing men in midfield to deny any free space to opponent,attacking midfielders overlapping perfectly,holding midfielders maintaining minimum gap with the backline while defending and they looked solid for most part of the game.

On the other hand East Bengal midfield was least impressive as they allowed too much space in midfield,lost possession easily, they failed to snatch and closing down of their attacking midfielders was non existent.

Kevin Lobo and Lalrindika managed to create few openings down the flanks but their "blow hot-blow cold" attacking duo of Moga and Chidi were closely marked by Salgaocar defenders and denied them any space and time to turn or take a shot.

Moga playing as the lead striker had few good chances but his poor touch and control let him down.Chidi too searching for his golden form of last season had a few cracks at goal and they sailed well over the cross bar.East Bengal went 2-0 down at half time.

Post break as East Bengal looked to get back into the game,East Bengal Coach Falopa desperately in search of some goals brought all his attacking options in form of Joaquim Abranches and Baljit.But it showed no change in fortune as Francis Fernandes sprinted down an empty right flank crossed the ball in and  Gilbert Oliviera headed the ball back to the path of Clifton Dias who made it 3-0 for Salgaocar.

Down and out East Bengal finally got one goal back when Moga out jumped his marker from a curling ball down the left flank from Kevin Lobo and headed the ball at the back of the net to make it 3-1.With a goal back East Bengal showed some urgency and with the substitution of Chidi with Semin Lane showed some spring in the stride of East Bengal as they pressed hard for another goal.The post 70 minutes game saw a changed East Bengal side as they had series of chances around the Salgaocar goal and a number of corners as the ball flew past the Salgaocar goal every now and then. Finally the pressure paid off as Semil Lane's low shot from the right side of the box beat GK Karanjit Singh git the base of far post and went back into the back of the net.3-2 East Bengal..come back was on with approximately 15 minutes of play left as the fans were gripped in anticipation.

Derek Perreira brought in  his reserve foreigner Claude Gnakpa in place of Duffy who almost put the encounter when he got an open chance in a quick counter attack but Abhjit Mondal covered his near post well and saved the powerful shot.East Bengal pressed forward looking to snatch one point  as Baljit and Khabra tried a few long rangers and were close but not close enough to earn them a point. As the 4th referee showed 5 minutes it raised hopes,but Salgaocar managed to hold on to the slender lead and dashing East Bengal hopes for a comeback and finally the game ended in 3-2 loss for the home team.

Tactical Note:

Salgaocar Coach showed perfect acumen and brilliant game reading to create a crowded midfield formation 4-5-1 as they took the control of the game from onset. The 5 midfielders outplayed the free flowing East Bengal game and also curtailed the Lobo-Dika creativity down the middle as a result the strikers were cut off from any midfield supply.

Coach Falopa needs to rethink his strategy  on how to use Chidi and Moga.Chidi needs to be used as their no.1 attacking option and he seems to be struggling to play his natural game as a withdrawal forward behind Moga.East Bengal need to co ordinate the wing play of their side backs and while the side backs are overlapping the midfielders are not tracking back deep enough to plug the gaps and as a result they got caught on the counter attack.

Final Score:

East Bengal 2-3 Salgaocar FC(J.Moga, S.Lane)  (Karma T. Francis Fernandes,Clifton Dias)

Weekly Indian Football News Update

Three news Teams included in Federation Cup fixtures

All India Football Federation (AIFF) has announced the three remaining Teams who will play in the 35^th edition of the Federation Cup along with the other 13 Airtel I-League clubs scheduled to take part in the country’s premier Cup Competition starting New Year’s Day.

While Mumbai Tigers will be replaced by United Sikkim in Group D, the third and fourth placed Teams from last year’s Second Division League – Bhowanipore FC and Langnsing FC -- will be the other two outfits in Group D and Group A respectively.

The new logo for the tourney has also been released. 

Football Federation of Australia signs agreement with AIFF

All India Football Federation (AIFF) is delighted to announce the signing of an agreement under Australian Sports Outreach Program (ASOP) with Football Federation of Australia (FFA) to support All India Football Federation’s Grassroots Programme.

The Australian Sports Outreach Program (ASOP) India is an Australian Government initiative implemented by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) with a commitment of AUD 5 million over five years (2009-14). The ASOP program is implemented through strategic partnerships created with selected organisations for their notable impact on Indian sport and connection with grassroots. ASOP partners receive ASC funds to deliver budgeted, annual work plans, based on mutually agreed goals and objectives.

The agreement includes financial, administrative and technical support (from FFA) in the form of capacity building within the State Associations currently involved in the Grassroots Programme, Grassroots Courses and Grassroots Festivals, among many such activities.

News Source:

AIFF Media team

Sahara Calcutta League Fixture 7/11/2013-30/11/2013

The IFA released the fixture for Sahara Calcutta League Fixture 7/11/2013-30/11/2013:

Source Link:http://the-ifa.org/SaharaCFLPremierFixture0711-3011-13.pdf

I-League:2013-14:United SC VS Salgaocar FC

Match Review:

United SC after their drawn match against city rivals Mohammedan SC looked to get back to their winning ways as they played their home match match against a strong Salgaocar SC at Kalyani stadium.Coach Elcho Schattori's had odds stacked against him as Belo Rassaq was out with a Red Card,Lalkamal still nursing an ankle injury.Coach Elcho Schattorie who is known for his tactical game reading did not have enough resources st his disposal to tackle a strong Salgaocar team.Gasping for resources Elcho did his best to put a starting XI that could atleast challenge Salgaocar. Veteran defender  Dipak Mondal returned to play as central defender after long time along side Anupam Sarkar and Dhanachandra and Sukhen Dey played as side backs. Asif K. and Shouvik were in charge of the mdfield while Snehasish and Rafiq started in charge of both flanks,Ranty played as final striker with Eric Brown playing behind hi to link midfielders to Ranty.
Rafiq still not fit to play 90' featured as U-23 player was soon replaced by Vinneeth CK.
United SC got to the worst possible start as they conceded the first goal as early as 3' as Augustine Fernandes turned in a loose ball from corner to make it 1-0.Salgaocar SC threatened to score more as they played good positive football using both the wings especiallly Karma Tsewang was impressive down the right wing.The midfield trio of Frances Fernandes-Rocus Lamare-Gilbert Olivera dominated possession in midfield and played impressive football.
As United missed someone influential in the midfield like Lalkamal,winger half CK Vineeth tried some darting runs to get into opponent box but could not create any chances to score as Ranty Martins was stiffled with some close double covering from Chika Wali and Augusten.Eric Brown tried to create a few openings but he tried a way too much fancy footwork and often dispossessed in the final third as Ranty Martins was starved of any ball suply either from wings or midfield. Dhanachandra had some good balls to deliver from the left wing into the box but he had a forgettable day as his crosses lacked any quality whatsoever .

As Darrel Duffey looked dangerous on the break and supply coming from both wings United was caught off guard many a times on quick counter attack with Sangram Mukherjee made some good saves on one-on-one situation to deny Salgaocar further lead.
United tried to pick a few attacks far and few in between mostly from combination play from Eric-Vineeth and Ranty.Eric Brown scored a goal with a powerful 35 yard low drive just outside box only to be flagged off offside by linesman.It seemed a clear goal but some poor referring proved to be the Nemesis of United SC once again.
Elcho played all his cards in second half bringing in Tapan Maity and Surajit Bose but failed to open the goalmouth as Chika Wali led defence was rock solid to deny United attacking duo of Ranty and Eric any space to take a shot to goal.United had a few setpiece and seven corners in the match but failed to make them count as well.
In the second half,Salgaocar Coach brought on his third foreigner Claude Gnakpa to support Duffey and it created more spaces in United SC As they pushed forward for an equalizer.Finally Salgaocar sealed off the game in 86' as substitute Milagres(8) scored a good goal on counter attack move to prove the encounter beyond contention.Derek Perereira achieved 3 points with a compact defensive game and a counter attack based game with lone striker Duffey upfront.
Coach Elcho would be mightily dissapointed with all the things that combing to United SC loss be it players out due to injury,cards or poor referring.But as a shrewd tactician he will be looking forward for the return of Belo and Lalkamal to get their campaign back to winning ways in their upcoming games.

Final Score:

United SC 0-2 Salgaocar SC                         (Augustine,Milagres)

I-League 2013-14:26/10/2013:East Bengal vs JSW Bengaluru FC

Match Review:

East Bengal hosted unbeaten Bengaluru FC on a day where elements played its whimps on a day when Bengal was battered with heavy rains and clouds loomed dark over beautiful Kalyani stadium.East Bengal needed a win as they looked to bounce back from their AFC Cup and I league loss to Dempo.EB Coach Falopa made some changes as Uga Opara was out with a red card,Arnab and Saumik sidelined due to injury.There was a new backline as Gurwinder paired with Raju Gaiakwad at the centre back while Abhisekh Das was in charge of right back and Robert Lalthamluana played as left back. Harmanjot Khabra made it back to starting XI after a long layoff to play as a blocking midfielder with captain Mehtab Hussain.Dika and Lobo played as attacking medios with James Moga playing as lone striker with Chidi playing behind Moga as a withdrawal forward in a 4-4-1-1 formation.
After a heavy downpour the pitch was sloppy as free flowing passing football was very difficult and Bengaluru FC who plays most of their home games on artificial turf struggled to get in terms with the wet and sloggy natural pitch.
EB looked better adapted to the conditions and Lobo and Dika were particularly impressive pushing the ball forward through some neat passing and feeding supply to Moga and Chidi.Moga seemed to have lost his golden touch for most of the match as he looked a tad slow and poaching instincts missing as he tried to finish couple of chances but shot them well wide.Chidi looked a bit out of place in his new position as a withdrawal forward as he had to collect most of his balls from centre half and link up play was missing.EB played well from box to box but lost steam in final third due to poor finishing of Moga and Chidi.
First half ended goalless as post break EB looked to take control of the game and got a few corner.The deadlock was broken on 49th minute when East Bengal got a corner and Lalrindika's in curler was directed in his own net by former EB boy Robin Singh to give EB 1-0 lead.
JSW Bengaluru tried to look for an equalizer with Menyongar making some darting runs to create some openings and tried to get some attack going from both flanks with Hangal and Beikokhoi.Keegan Perreira was impressive with his attacking as well as his defensive duties in midfield.But Bengaluru forward Sunil and Sean Rooney were marked well in their attacking third as Raju and Gurwinder looked solid at back and Mehtab-Khabra defensive screen denied any free space to create openings.Robin Singh got a chance to make amends as he got a loose ball in the box but his volley rebounded of the bar.Abhijit Mondal made some good saves to deny Sean Rooney chances to score.
As Bengaluru FC looked for any oportunity to sneak away with one point James Moga and Kevin Lobo combined well from a quick counter attack and Moga controlled the ball outside the right corner of the box,rounded off the defender and unleashed a powerful shot as goalkeeper Pawan Kumar had no chance as the ball crashed at the back of the net,the goal provided much respite to the South Sudanese striker who couple of days back was at the centre of all wrath of EB fans for his poor show in AFC cup game.
2 goals and 03 points against table toppers puts EB nicely into the contention of the I league as they look to host Salgaocar FC in their next game

Final Score:

East Bengal 2 - 0 JSW Bengaluru FC

Robin Singh(OG)James Moga

I-League:23/10/2013 Mohun Bagan vs Salgaocar FC

Match Review:

After a excruciating loss to Sporting Goa Mohun Bagan played their next home game as they hosted the table toppers Salgaocar.Without Odafa Okolie not many would have thought Mohun Bagan could have got something out of this game against a strong Salgaocar team coached by experienced Derek Perriera.

Coach Karim on the other had to manage a winless team down on morale and without their no.1 striker.Mohun Baagan fielded a young team as they paired Eche-Kingshuk in the central defence and Ravinder and Aibor played as side backs.Denson was the blocking midfielder while Zakir was given the attacking medio role.Sabeeth and Ram Malik played as wing halfs down the flanks while Eric was lone striker supported by Katsumi behind Eric Muranda as a roaming withdrawal forward.
In the first half both teams had decent easy scoring opportunities as Eric Muranda wasted a golden chance to put Bagan ahead while on the other end Duffey volleyed high and wide from an easy scoring chance.
Mohun Bagan did well in the midfield as Zakir and Ram Malik got some attack going down the right half. Katsumi kept frustrating his team mates and the 8000 odd fans present at the stadium by not releasing the ball early.Muranda had a game to forget as his first touch betrayed him for most of the match,he looked slow,his turning,shielding,covering showed he was not up to the level to match the alert Salgaocar backline.Salgaocar had a sold defence line led by Chika Wali,Nicolau Colaco,Caitan Costa and Rahul Kumar.But Salgaocar lacked their builkd up play as their foreigner Claude Gnakpa and Darrel Duffy could not string together any buildup play mainly due the industrious effort from Bagan midfielders as they effectively defended in number at times with 09 men behind the ball and Salgaocar forward Darrel Duffy was pretty much marooned all by himself in the forward line.Mohun Bagan wing halfs Sabeeth and Ram Malik successfully tracked back while defending and cutting off the wingplay from Francis and Gilbert .
As the first half ended goaless,both team turned up in second half to turn fortunes.Mohun Bagan looked more active post half time break and they picked up the lead in 55th minute in a quick counter attack as Sabeeh picked up pass from Denson and lobbed the ball beating advancing goalkeeper for a neat finish.
As Salgaocar tried to press forward Mohun Bagan defence looked in a bit of pressure as the visting team pushed men forward in search of an equalizer.Goalkeeper Shilton Paul was forced to make a few saves.
Karim made an important chance bringing in Shouvik Ghosh in place of Ravinder Singh and Shankar in place of an off colour Muranda,Both teams got few opportunities in between but failed to convert,But Bagan was finally rewarded with a two goal cushion in77th as Katsumi scored a scorcher from outside the box with a powerful swerving shot which beat Karanjit Singh.
Salgaocar left no stone unturned to get back into the match and was finally rewarded with a penalty as Duffey was brought down inside the box by Eche.Duffey made no mistake to make it 2-1 at 90'.As Bagan looked to close the game,Bagan suffered another blow as Denson picked up his second yellow in injury time and was given marching orders.But a resolute 10 man-Bagan held off Salgaocar from getting an equalizer to get their first win of I league by beating the table toppers.This win would definitely given Mohun Bgaan fans and supporters to be optimistic and the celebrations after scoring Katsumi's goal with Coach Karim just showed how much under pressure the coach and players were after their loss to Sporting club de Goa.
Bagan will have to find solutions and find it quickly as Aibor and Eric picked up injury knocks during the match,Denson red carded and Odafa under post-surgery rehab.
But a shrewd coach Karim who knows to take out surprise bunny out of hats needs to put together all his acts to field a tactically strong team to challenege impressive Mumbai FC in an away game,all eyes will be on the new young recruits in the likes of Shouvik Ghosh,Pritam Kotal,Rajib Ghorui and others.

Final Score:Mohun Bagan 2-1 Salgaocar FC(S.Sabeeth,Katsumi )    Darrell Duffy(pen.)

I-League:19/10/2013 : Mohun Bagan AC VS Sporting Club de Goa

Match Review and Analysis:

After two draws and one loss Mohun Bagan played their first I league home game at Salt Lake stadium against Sporting Club de Goa looking for their first win of the I league season.It was always going to be a difficult task with Odafa Okolie still missing because of hamstring injury.Karim Bencherifa fielded a side that seemed to play more the counter attacking game rather than  forcing the issue to go for goals.With Sandip Nandy under the post Kingshuk-Aibor paired as central defenders in the absence of red carded Eche while Wahid Sali and Ravinder Singh(U-23) were the side backs. 
Adil Khan was deployed as a defensive screen infront of the back four primarly to cut the link up play between Ogba Kalu and Boimah Kharpeh.Denson in the middle,Zakir on the right and Katsumi down the left were the midfield men,Denson more of a holding midfielder while Zakir and Katsumi were assigned to keep the ball pushing forward to striking duo of Sabeeth and Eric Muranda.
On the other hand Spanish Coach Oscar Bruzon fielded a strong side with the Spanish duo of Gonzalo Neila and Arturo Garcia in the heart of defence and Mathew Gonsalves and Joyner Lourenco played as both wing halfs.
Ogba Kalu played as the influential holding midfielder giving Sporting a box to box option both while defending as well as going forward.Ogba Kalu was supported in the midfield by lanky Rowlin Borges(U-23),Pratesh Shirodkar down the left and  Cajetan Fernandes down the right while Boimah Khareph was supported by Cajetan Fernandes up front.
Referee Santosh Kumar whistled off the match under the pristine floodlights of the YBK stadium Sporting Club took the control of game from very onset as their wing halfs Pratesh Shirodkar  and Jovel Martins provided width to Sporting attack,Ogba Kalu motored the midfield dynamics to feed Boimah Kharpeh with great through balls as Bagan defence line struggled to cope with the presence of strong Boimag Kharpeh who used his strong physical presence to effectively body shield Kingshuk and Aibor.The Bagan midfield looked in a dismal shape as Denson continued his poor form of play and was struggling throughout the match getting balls forward as well as found wanting while falling back to cut off Sporting bild up play.Zakir too had an ordinary day as Bagan midfielders were happy to play series of square passes and back passes in the mdfield and showed little impetus to move forward .Highly rated Japanese medio Katsumi was guilty of keeping the ball too long and attracted challenges from opponent players and ended up losing possession a number of times.Despide all odds,Sabeeth and Muranda got two back to back chances on 10th minute but failed to capitalize on the opportunity.Sabeeth's finishing ability is already questionble among mohun bagan ardents and Eric Muranda failed to show glimpses of his Calcutta League form against high quality I league opponents.
With no midfield play and poor passing Mohun Bagan was caught off guard in a quick counter attack as Kalu needled through a ball to Boimah who easily thwarted Aibor with his physical presence and dribbled passed an advancing Sandip on the edge of the box with acres of space at his disposal coolly slotted home a neat finish to give Sporting a goal advantage. Bagan failed to equalize in the first half .
Bagan made some changes in the second half getting in Manish Bhargav(in place of Adil),Rowlinson(in place of Aibor) and Ram Malik (in place of Sabeeth) as the Mariners looked to claw back into the game on 77th minute their hopes were dashed as Boimah Kharpeh again shielded off two defenders,squared off Sandip Nandy and netted the ball to make it 2-0 for Sporting.
These two goals put's a few uneasy questions on Mohun Bagan's defence and goalkeeper's outing ability.The quality difference in the midfield was evident as Mohun Bagan midfield presented a sorry picture with no snatching,passing or possession. Mohun Bagan however pulled one goal back through penalty scored by Eric.

Tactical Note:

As Sporting Club fielded all four foreigners(Neila,Aruro,Kalu,Boimah) Mohun Bagan had two foreigners on pitch(Katsumi and Eric) and the difference in quality was clearly visible as Sporting 4-4-2 formation outplayed Bagan in all three departments.Midfield trio of Kalu-Jovel-Pratesh dominated midfield play as Denson-Katsumi-Zakir had a day to forget,passing was poor,holding the ball for unnecessary longer duration and inability to hold possession cost Bagan the game.Eric and Sabeeth were below par,it's high time Coach Karim starts looking for alternate options as Sabeeth had too many opportunity to start for Mohun Bagan and had wasted many goals in almost all matches.

Final Score:

Mohun Bagan 1-3 Sporting Club de Goa

Eric Muranda(pen.)            Boimah Khareph(15',77')

I-league:17/10/2013 :East Bengal vs Dempo SC

Match Review and Tactical Analysis:

In their first home game in I-League a seemingly confident East Bengal took on a a win less Dempo SC after East Bengal's thumping away win at Shillong and their confident show at AFC Cup campaign.The anticipation was at it's highest as supporters and fans thronged the Kalyani stadium in numbers with a sold out crowd.But the carnival soon turned to disappointment as the team looked still to be in hangover of the festivity that captured entire Bengal for past week or so.
The midfield and defence was caught napping as early as 2 minutes as a quick attack down the right flank by Billy Mehmet as the East Bengal back line was found wanting powered in a low cross and Clifford Miranda made no mistake in the six yard box with a simple tap-in to make it 1-0 for the visitors.
Following this East Bengal team was found chasing the leather rest of the match as they had minimal possession and failed to gather any possession in the midfield.
Dempo midfield manned by mercurial Beto and brilliantly aided by Peter Carvalho,Jewel Raja and Clifford Miranda dominated the midfield throughout the game as they shared majority of possession and kept the ball with effortless ease.Former bagan medio Jewel Raja was particularly impressive in the midfield providing endless run in the midfield snatching and feeding the forward duo of Mehmet and Jeje with series of passes as Beto was a free medio playing in the majority of space from midfield to opponent box.
East Bengal on the other hand looked vulnerable whenever there was an attack from the flanksand the defence looked shaky even the ever reliable Uga Opara had to concede a tactical yellow card when he body checked Beto from a quick counter attack.Clifford Miranda and Jeje created series of problems for East Bengal wing backs especially Naoba Singh had a torrid time keeping the Dempo attack line at bay,amidst all this East Bengal got a penalty against the run of play when Samir Naik handed the ball inside the box.East Bengal's top marksmen Eddeh Chidi stepped up to the spot as the stadium gasped for an equalizer but to everyone's surprise his powerful grounder to the right of the goalkeeper missed the target.So it was 1-0 to Dempo at half time.
Second half saw few tactical changes as Falopa injected Baljit in place of Mama,as East Bengal looked for a streak of fortune to get back into the game all their hopes were dashed as Beto capitalized on to a loose second ball from corner as East Bengal backline stood haplessly to slot-in in a deflected header from first post to the rear post and unmarked Beto made no mistake to make it 2-0 for the visitors.
Dempo continued to press forward and they were soon rewarded with a third goal as Uga Opara brought down Jovy from behind inside the box,Uga was shown his second yellow and was given marching orders.
Beto made no mistake to convert the penalty to make a comfortable 3-0 cushion for Dempo.
East Bengal however managed to pull one back as Baljit gave a consolation goal to East Bengal with a neat finish at the dying stages of the match as Dempo closed the game with no further hiccups.
Tactical Note:
Arthur Papas went one up in the tactical fight against the Brazilian gaffer Falopa as Dempo controlled the box to box pay through out 90 minutes. Peter Carvalho played brilliantly as a defensive medio and cut the combination play between Moga and Chidi as the higly rated duo failed to create any chances throughout the match.Jewel Raja toiled hard and did everything expected of him with his endles run,snatching,holding as well as pushing the team forward.Beto was excellent holding the ball in the midfield and needling his passes with rmearkable accuracy to find Jeje and Billy Mehmet upfront.And the backline lead by Simon Colosimo and Seisuke Honda shwed brilliant understanding and dominated the defense line with their aerial presence and neat covering.Chidi-Moga duo was listless throughout the match as Dempo defenders combined well to keep them quiet throghout.
On the other hand East Bengal had a unforgetable match with their Talisman skipper Mehtab failing to push the team forward and they were forced to defend deep for most part of the match,Opara-Arnab duo looked shaky,Naoba looked out of depth and Tulunga and Dika failed to generate any passes to feed the forward line.
But from tactical point of view it was a intriguing match as Dempo SC's tactical superiority was showcased brilliantly as they outplayed East Bengal in all departments in a brilliant match which had a bit of everything from early goals,penalty missed,penalty,scored,Red Cards,field goals,Goals from Corners.

Final Score:
East Bengal 1-3 Dempo SC
(Baljit Sahni)      (C.Miranda,Beto+2)

I-League:UNITED SPORTS CLUB vs SPORTING CLUBE DE GOA

I-league:29/09/2013 :
UNITED SPORTS CLUB vs SPORTING CLUBE DE GOA,Kalyani Stadium

Article Copyright:Tactical Note
Email: editor.tacticalnotes@gmail.com
Contact: 9038520665

Home Team review:

United Sports Club face Sporting club de Goa in their second home game of I-League as they face Sporting Club de Goa today at Kalyani Municipal ground. United SC had a good win in their last game against Rangdajeid United and will be looking to carry on the good form on to their next game.But Coach Elcho Schattorrie will face an improved Sporting Club de Goa team this season.

Elcho will be looking to play in an usual 4-3-1-2 formation where Bello and Anupam Sarkar will look to mann the heart of defence,Dipak Mondal and Dhanachandra manning the both side backs,though Sukhen day might make the cut on the left back position after his good performance against Mohammedan sporting in the last game.Lalkamal,Vineeth, Asif/Shouvik Chakraborty in the midfield,Eric Brown as withdrawal striker and Ranty martins upfront could be paired with young Md.Rafiq.

Elcho is likely to bench Surojit Bose and Biswajit Biswas and use one of them as his post 75 minutes -substitution in the second half to bring more penetration in the dying stages,he has also a good option in midfield in form of Jayanta who can play the role of a defensive midfielder as well as supply long balls to both flanks who can turn them into the  box for Ranty Martins. Elchos boy's would look to play the conventional hold and play looking to dominate  possession and exchanging passes in midfield to pull out the opponent defense line from sitting deep inside and then create chances by pushing surprise passes through to Ranty to have some spaces to operate near the Sporting Club de Goa's box.

Eric Brown will be likely to play the withdrawal forward role picking up passes from midfield and linking them through to Ranty upfront and exchange passes near the opponent box to create openings.

The major worry factor for United SC will be the obligatory office-match  duties of some their players who were away to play matches for their office teams including number one custodian Sangram and midfield regular Shouvik Chakraborty. While Sangram is likely to feature in the starting lineup,Shouvik who scored a brilliant goal in his last game in Calcutta league might be on the bench considering he would be travelling overnight by train to feature in the match.Though it is a tough toss between Shouvik and Asif in the midfield to play alongside Lalkamal.Though Jayanta Sen might get a look-in too to create a defensive threat infront of United back four to deny space to dangerous Boima Kharpeh.

Away Team review:

The Sporting Club de Goa team is been managed by Spaniard Oscar Bruzon since last season has a very balanced team this season at his disposal,the squad has a good balanced of youth and experiences and  team features some good local Goan boys and some high potential foreign recruits. Sporting will look to unleash Boima Kharpeh in the attack line,the Liberian-Australian forward was impressive last season with Pune FC with strength and aerial presence and has good sense of scoring both inside and outside box. He would be supported by Dawson and Victorino as Sporting will look to field a 4-3-3 formation.
While the other foreign recruits Spaniard defender Gonzalo Neila will be leading the the defence line aided by young  duo of Matthew Gonsalves and Joyner Laurenco,as they  will be playing as side backs. Bruzon will be looking to use his other foreign recruit Arturo Navarro Garcia at some point in the second half to bring some creativity in the attacking play from midfield from the former Valencia player.
Sporting has some young local talent to show in midfield in the form of tall medio Rowlin Borges and Pratesh Shirodkar while attacking from the flanks would be mainly from Jovel Martins and Joseph Perriera

Tactical Note:

With dangerous Boima Kharpeh,Dawson,Victorio upfront the team is likely to play a high tempo game distributing balls to both flanks and create pressure on United defenders. Sporting will be wary of United midfield strength led by their star central-midfielder Lalkamal and C.K Vineeth on left. While there are several battle within a battle here in the form of Gonsalves vs Eric Brown, Lalkamal vs  Arturo Garcia,Ranty vs Gonzalo Neila and Belo vs Boima, it likely the team which will win the battle of midfield is likely to take something out of this game as the tactical fight between Dutch coach Elcho Schattorrie and Spaniard coach Oscar Bruzon comes out of drawing board to the beautiful grass turf of Kalyani stadium.

Post Match Review:
Sporting played with an unusual formation for the match playing their attacking option No. 9 Arturo Garcia in the defence with Gonzalo Neila and it made their backline look very fragile throughout 90 minutes.Sporting Coach beefed the midfield and forward line with attack minded players as he played with Boimah Kharpeh,Victorino,Dawson,Jovel Martins,Rowlin 
Borges and it proved a difficult tactical move to understand.This formation created lot of openings for Sporting but they struggled when there was a counter attack from United SC.
United could have scored a few more if Ranty Martins did not squander couple of one-on-one opportunities.
United scored their first goal in a brilliant counter attacking move as Vinneth picked up the long ball coming from Dipak down the right flank and with space left vacant moved closed to Sporting box and crossed it into the box and Ranty made no mistake with a simple tap-in to make it 1-0.But United could not hold on to their one goal lead as Victorino Fernandez equalized in the second half in another brilliant move as United defence was caught napping in the second half.
As the game looked for a tame draw,Elcho made some interesting tactical changes bringing in Shouvik in place of Vineeth at half time and then substituting Rafiq with Biswajit Biswas,as Rafiq had a pretty dull day on the field.The young medio did not disappoint as he scored his debut I league goal as Sporting goalkeeper fumbled a powerful shot from Dhanachandra and young Biswajit showed good intention to follow and picked up the rebound to place it at the back of the net to give United SC a 2-1 lead.
As Sporting pressed forward for an equalizer they were caught off-guard in a counter attacking move as Eric Brown beat the offside trap and an alert Ranty Martins played him on side and Eric continued his brilliant solo run to put the margin beyond contention in injury time to make it 3-1 for United.

Final Score:

United SC 3-1 Sporting Club de Goa

(Ranty Martins,Biswajit Bose,Eric Brown)      (Victorino Fernandes)

Airtel I-League 2013-14:Full Fixture Schedule

Fixtures

Date	Home	Away	Kick-off
September 28, 2013	Churchill Brothers SC	McDowell Mohun Bagan A.C	3:30 PM
September 28, 2013	Kingfisher East Bengal Club	Mohammedan Sporting Club	5:30 PM
September 29, 2013	United Sports Club	Sporting Clube de Goa	4:00 PM
September 29, 2013	Bengaluru FC	Rangdajied United FC	4:00 PM
September 29, 2013	Mumbai FC	Dempo Sports Club	4:00 PM
September 29, 2013	Shillong Lajong FC	Pune FC	5:00 PM
October 4, 2013	Rangdajied United FC	Dempo Sports Club	5:00 PM
October 5, 2013	Churchill Brothers SC	Mumbai FC	3:30 PM
October 5, 2013	Shillong Lajong FC	Sporting Clube de Goa	5:00 PM
October 5, 2013	Kingfisher East Bengal Club	Pune FC	5:30 PM
October 6, 2013	Bengaluru FC	United Sports Club	4:00 PM
October 6, 2013	Salgaocar FC	Mohammedan Sporting Club	5:00 PM
October 9, 2013	Salgaocar FC	Dempo Sports Club	4:00 PM
October 9, 2013	Shillong Lajong FC	Kingfisher East Bengal Club	5:00 PM
October 9, 2013	Mumbai FC	United Sports Club	7:00 PM
October 10, 2013	Bengaluru FC	Mohammedan Sporting Club	4:00 PM
October 10, 2013	Rangdajied United FC	Churchill Brothers SC	5:00 PM
October 10, 2013	Pune FC	McDowell Mohun Bagan A.C	7:00 PM
October 18, 2013	Mumbai FC	Salgaocar FC	4:00 PM
October 19, 2013	Shillong Lajong FC	United Sports Club	5:00 PM
October 19, 2013	Kingfisher East Bengal Club	Dempo Sports Club	5:00 PM
October 19, 2013	Pune FC	Churchill Brothers SC	7:00 PM
October 20, 2013	Rangdajied United FC	Mohammedan Sporting Club	5:00 PM
October 20, 2013	McDowell Mohun Bagan A.C	Sporting Clube de Goa	5:00 PM
October 23, 2013	Churchill Brothers SC	Kingfisher East Bengal Club	4:00 PM
October 23, 2013	Bengaluru FC	Dempo Sports Club	4:00 PM
October 23, 2013	Mumbai FC	Shillong Lajong FC	5:00 PM
October 23, 2013	McDowell Mohun Bagan A.C	Salgaocar FC	5:30 PM
October 24, 2013	Sporting Clube de Goa	Rangdajied United FC	5:00 PM
October 24, 2013	Mohammedan Sporting Club	United Sports Club	5:00 PM

Source: http://i-league.org/?page_id=955