For East Bengal coach Trevor Morgan, Tuesday’s Super Cup showdown at the Ambedkar Stadium here against I-League champions Salgaocar is a chance to paper over the past. The Super Cup is a standalone tie between last season’s I-League and Federation Cup champions.
“We were outplayed the last time we met, in the Federation Cup final (1-3), in every department. They’re a good side but we have to put a better show tomorrow,” the 55-year-old Englishman told HT on Monday.
The Kolkata giants had skipped the Durand Cup to play a tournament in Vietnam, the Becamex IDC Cup. They were eliminated in the group stages following 0-1 losses to Matsubara (Brazil) and Sai Gon Xuan Than (Vietnam) after having drawn 2-2 with SHB Da Nang (Vietnam) in their opening tie.
Karim Bencherifa, however, would have been left a little bemused after Salgaocar dropped out of the Durand Cup in the group stages itself, surprising most given their stellar run of success. “No team can win every competition and we didn’t do as well as we were expected to,” said the Moroccan.
“The scheduling has been problematic. The matches were scheduled poorly, at the height of the afternoon, during the Durand here. That’s been affecting the players,” Bencherifa said.
Both sides have brought limited squads to the Capital, leaving the injured figures behind.
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