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Mohammedan Sporting set to host newbies Gangtok Himalayan SC

Mohammedan Sporting Club v Gangtok Himalayan SC - Pre-Match Press Conference

Mohammedan Sporting Club will be keen to build on their impressive start to the 2015-16 Second Division League campaign when they host Gangtok Himalayan SC in an Eastern Conference Round 2 encounter at their adopted home at the Barasat Municipal Stadium on Saturday.

Having defeated a strong Guwahati FC side 2-1 a week ago in their earlier fixture, Mohammedan will be riding high on confidense going into the tie but the task on hand won’t be easy for the hosts as the visitors are fresh off an impressive performance in DSK Cup at Pune, where they made into the semifinals and in doing so they have defeated a Bengaluru FC side that contained the likes of Curtis Osano, Kim Seng Yong, Alwyn George and Beikhokhei Beingaichho.

“We began with a win but we can’t be complacent. The league has just started and there is a long way to go therefore we need to remain focussed on the task at hand. The home games are very important and we will go for three points,” said Mohammedan Sporting coach Subrata Bhattacharya Jr. in the pre-match press conferece.

“Throughout the week we have worked on our strengths and more on weaknesses. We have less information about our opponents so it makes out job slightly tougher but I have full faith on our team,” he added.

For Gangtok Himalayan SC this will be their first apperance in the Second Division League. Babatunde and Samuel are the two foreigners for the Sikkimese outfit and the former United Sikkim lads Karan Atwal, Nima Tamang and Shahenshah Ansari are other prominent features in their roster.

“Mohammedan Sporting are a big club with a glorious past and being as former Mohammedan Sporting player I have a huge amount of respect for them. Though we are very young in the circuit but my team won’t play as underdogs, going into the league we have good preparation and recently we have played the DSK Cup in Pune, where I thought we have done well, so I am confident about my team and looking forward to a good match.” said Gangtok Himalayan SC coach A. Shanta Kumar.

A. Shanta Kumar is an former Mohammedan Sporting footballer who plied his trade at Mohammedan from 1991 to 1993.

On the team news front, Mohammedan Sporting will be missing the services of Ajay Singh and Kareem Omolaja. Ajay picked up a red card in last match followed by couple of yellow cards while Kareem has fitness issues. However, the rest of the squad is fit and available for selection.