New Delhi: Table toppers East Bengal are set to face debutants Indian Arrows, a team made up of teenagers, in their Hero I-League match at the Ambedkar Stadium here on Tuesday.
East Bengal have 14 points while the Arrows are lying at the seventh spot with seven points from six matches but the Kolkata giants are not underestimating the Arrows as they held mighty Mohun Bagan 1-1 in their last match.
East Bengal coach Khalid Jamil, the man with the midas touch who guided ‘outsiders’ Aizawl FC to a historic triumph in the last edition of the tournament, cautioned his players against taking the teenagers lightly.
“The Indian Arrows are playing good football ranging from the goalkeepers to the forwards. There is a lot of confidence and they play as a unit on the field. It is evident that they are hungry and we are not taking them lightly,” said Khalid.
“We are playing an away fixture with a good young team who have played excellently in their last two matches. We acknowledge the fact that the Indian Arrows are a genuine threat for us,” he added.
The Arrows will be without the services of their star goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh, who has quit the I-League team in an attempt to pursue a career in Europe.
Bagan hope to bounce back
In Kolkata, former champions Mohun Bagan will look to return to winning ways when they face minnows Chennai City FC on Tuesday.
Bagan’s last win — a 5-0 demolition of Churchill Brothers — had come on December 12. Since then, they have failed to make the home games count, dropping points for a third time in a row to slip to fifth place in the standings. Chennai have a solitary win and lost four times to be on the eighth place in the table.
