Abid Khan
Srinagar, Apr 20: Mohun Bagan has picked up valley’s international footballer, Ishfaq Ahmad, in its team that is going to take on Kuwait SC in the AFC cup match in Kuwait on Tuesday.The 17-member Mohun Bagan team on Sunday left for Kuwait. The team is without the skipper Baichung Bhutia, who had sustained ankle injury. Odafe had suffered ankle injury.
In absence of star striker Baichung, the team coach has said that he will put extra responsibility on Ishfaq.
Mohun Bagan had lost the home match against Kuwait on April 7 at Howrah stadium in Kolkata by 1-0. Now in the match scheduled for Tuesday, the team needs to win and that too by a margin of two goals.
Ishfaq told Greater Kashmir over phone that the season has been turnaround year for him. “Despite having stars like Baichung and Barreto in the side, I have been able to impress everyone with my play,” he added.
“I have to prove my worth on the field and that too against East Bengal and other foreign team. Against Kuwait SC, I will try my best to help my team to win. We need to win this match by a difference of two goals and that is not easy task,” he said.
About his clubs’ missed chance to win the I-league, he said, “Everybody wants to win the championship and there would be a regret that we could not win it. But we won the Federation Cup and won 10 league matches in a series which is an achievement.”
Highlighting the positive sides of their 2008-2009 season, Ishfaq said, “I think our 2008-2009 season has been okay but if we had won the League, it would have been perfect. But thanks to Allah, we could achieve something this season.”
Side: Sangram, Shilton, Rahul Kumar, Manju, Dipak, Vashan, Mohanraj, Habibur, Ishfaq, James Sr, Lalkamal, Rakesh, Lalramluah, Marcos, Barreto, Branco and Lalampuia.
published in Greater Kashmir on April 21: http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?Date=21_4_2009&ItemID=7&cat=4
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