JCT to take on Mahindras United outlookindia.com PANAJI, JAN 19 (PTI) A close contest is on the offing as Federation Cup champion Mahindra United take on JCT Mills, Phagwara, tomorrow in the 10th ONGC National Football league at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda. Mahindra United, who had a thrilling 4-3 win over Dempo Sports Club hold an edge over their rivals upfront as they have two sharpshooters - Yusif Yakubu and Jose Ramirez Baretto - who were mainly responsible for that victory. They have four points from two matches thus far.
However, the Mahindra defence looks shaky at times and will have to tighten up as the nippy Johnson will exploit any weakness along with Praveen Kumar. The JCT defence has been compact and has managed to sustain the pressure in the last two drawn encounters. But Mahindra have the best attack in the NFL and an able midfield where James Singh and Steven Dias have played their role to perfection. JCT coach Parminder Singh said Mahindra was a good side but not unbeatable. "They have two good strikers in the form of Jose Baretto and Yusif Yakubu which is worrying us. We have worked out our plan to counter them and are prepared for the same," Singh said. Mahindra coach Derick Pereira is confident that his team will win tomorrow if their boys continue to play the same way they did against Dempo. "They (JCT) have a compact defence but we have a sharp attack to counter them. We have to be careful and cannot take them lightly. We have to continue from where we left against Dempo. It will be a close contest but I am confident we will emerge winners," Pereira said. NFL 17-Jan-2006 Sporting hold edge over Air-India 16-Jan-2006 Mahindras pip Dempo 4-3 15-Jan-2006 East Bengal Salgaoncar draw 1-1 Sporting rally to hold JCT 14-Jan-2006 Dempo come back strongly Sporting beat Bagan 1-0 11-Jan-2006 Salgaocar rally to beat Air-India Mahindra, Bagan finish goalless JCT-Fransa Pax match ends in goalless draw 10-Jan-2006 Dempo draws against Sporting
