Indian Arrows eye double over East Bengal in I-League

All India Football Federation's developmental side Indian Arrows will look for a second win against East Bengal this I-League season when they face each other at the Cooperage Stadium here on Monday.

The match will also mark the return of I-League in Mumbai for the first time in three years.

The Arrows stunned the Red and Golds 1-0 in Kalyani a couple of weeks ago. But after that, they lost 0-1 to defending champions Chennai City and played out a goalless draw against Neroca.

Head coach Shanmugam Venkatesh exuded confidence ahead of the match, saying, "We are confident of a positive result against East Bengal. Our last match against them was a good one for us and we will give our 100% once again."

"As I said earlier too, they (East Bengal) are a very good team with a lot of talented players and we will have to be at our best to get the result we want."

East Bengal have had a plethora of problems to deal with this season but can take a few positives from their last outing against Punjab FC. They struck early in that game, courtesy an Ansumana Kromah stunner but conceded an equaliser, eventually drawing 1-1.

 

Despite the tough times East Bengal have been going through, their supporters still remain firmly behind their team and forward Ansumana Kromah voiced his gratitude ahead of the game.

"We are all grateful for the passionate support we still have and I've felt that ever since I came back," he said.

Kromah had been struggling to find himself in the starting XI but Marcos Jimenez De La Espada's dismissal in the match against the Arrows paved the way for him to make a point. Against Punjab, both Espada and Kromah were named to start upfront, with the latter delivering the goods and finding the net.

"We have to respect the Indian Arrows. They are a great team with some outstanding young talent. They like to run a lot and they stunned us at home. We need to be careful, especially their right-wing which can cause us some trouble," Kromah said.