I-LEAGUE Media Team

GOA: Sporting Clube de Goa and Salgaocar Football Club will hunt for their first victories in the Hero I-League as they square up at the Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, on Sunday.

Sporting Clube de Goa and Salgaocar have been far from their best in the league so far and will be hoping for change in fortunes.

“It hasn’t been all that good but then we have played just two matches so far. We will recover from our setback in the last game and put up an improved performance. The boys realize the importance of securing a win at the earliest,” said Sporting Clube coach Mathew D’Costa.

Sporting Clube started with an impressive draw against East Bengal in the opening encounter, a match they should have won on the evidence of their second half showing. But, in the next game, Sporting Clube crumbled to a 0-3 defeat against Dempo Sports Club, despite the former champions missing a clutch of players through injuries.

Sporting are confident they can break the winning duck, thanks to the arrival of Portuguese defender Miguel Garcia. The NorthEast United FC captain was among the reserves for the last clash and did not take the field but having spent more than a week at the club now, he is ready to step up.

The availability of midfielder Brandon Fernandes will also give Sporting Clube hope, although just where coach Mathew will slot him in the midfield remains unknown.

Salgaocar, too, have had a bad run of form since the start of the competition, unable to win any of their three encounters. They started with a credible 1-1 draw against Pune FC, lost surprisingly against Royal Wahingdoh and then shared the spoils with Mohun Bagan in the last game.

A lot of Salgaocar’s inability to secure a win has been due to the unavailability of a recognized striker. Dawson Fernandes could be ruled out of the season but there is a possibility that Scottish striker Darryl Duffy will have recovered from hamstring injury.  Duffy’s availability will be crucial for Salgaocar’s chances as the Durand Cup champions have scored just once in three games, despite carving out several chances.

KO: Feb 1 @ 4:30 pm IST (Ten Action)
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