Mohun Bagan face Terengganu juggernaut
Terengganu FC of Malaysia will be the favourites when they take on Mohun Bagan from Kolkata in the second semifinal of the Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chattogram today.
The match will kick off at 7:00pm.
The Malaysian side topped Group B with two comprehensive wins and a draw and they scored the most number of goals (9) in the tournament so far.
They have a quality forward line, which includes lethal centre-forward Bruno Suzuki, playmaker Andrew Lee Tuck and the very skilful Syafik Bin Kamal.
The first two have scored seven goals in the tournament while Syafik has been involved in setting up some of their goals.
The team’s coach, Nafuzi Mohamad Zain, was confident of his team making it to the final.
“It will not be easy against Mohun Bagan, but I believe if my players can do what they have done in the three games, we will be in the final,” Zain said in his pre-semifinal analysis.
The Malaysian admitted that his opponents have a physical advantage, but believes the technical ability of his players makes them the better side.
“Mohun Bagan are a very physical team with six foreigners. Our team are not as physical, shorter players. But our team have more players with technical ability,” the coach added.
The team’s captain, Lee Tuck, assessed the challenge from the Indian side. “We’ve got a tough game against Mohun Bagan; they’re very physical, they run very hard. We need to raise our game to compete physically,” he said.
“The only target is to win, doesn’t matter if we play beautiful football or have a fight within the game. It’s all about winning now. The goal is to get to the final,” the Englishman added.
Mohun Bagan started the tournament with a defeat before registering two victories to sneak into the semifinals. They have scored only four goals, but also conceded only two. They have been less than impressive so far and will need to play their best if they are to get past the Malaysian side. “We are trying to play a good match and advance to the final,” Mohun Bagan coach Kibu Vicuna said. “We are going to prepare as well as possible. We are playing better every day.”
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