Odafa return to boost Churchill against Bagan

Kolkata: A depleted Mohun Bagan would look to exploit the home advantage when they take on I-League champions Churchill Brothers in the 114th IFA Shield summit clash at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan (YBK) here on Friday.

The Goans will be bolstered by the return of India’s highest paid striker Odafa Onyeka Okolie, who had to sit out of their semi-final outing against Air India, due to double booking. The Churchill-Bagan clash will also renew their I-League rivalry last season, when the two teams had finished first-second. The 20-time Shield champions, Mohun Bagan, have problems aplenty, plagued by a depleted forward and defence line-up.In the absence of Nigerian recruit Edeh Chidi, who was shown the red card for head-butting Eduardo Coelho in their semifinal against United SC, Bagan coach Karim Bencherifa might bring in Suraj Mondal upfront to pair with Brazilian medio Marcos Pereira, who can be switched to striker. The green-and-maroon brigade is already missing their star Brazilian striker Jose Ramirez Barreto, nursing an injury, and India captain Bhaichung Bhutia who is engaged in a legal battle with the club. The backline has been facing problems after India defender N S Manju fractured his toe in the Nehru Cup last month. Churchill Brothers will not have any such problem and a full strength side would be at their disposal. But Bencherifa maintained that their boys were confident after their 5-4 (0-0) penalty shootout win over Air India in the semifinals. “Momentum is with our players and everybody is confident of a good show tomorrow,” the Moroccan said. Asked about the setback concerning Chidi, Bencherifa said, “It’s part and parcel of the game. Churchill-Bagan is certainly going to be a big clash, we can expect good football. But at the same time, we just hope that the standard of refereeing also improve in the final.” On Odafa’s return, he said, “We are not bothered about one particular player. It’s a team game and not a fight between two individuals.” Peeved with Chidi’s red card episode, Bagan had threatened not to play in the final if the IFA did not take any action against the two officials (O P Thakur and A Arjunan) wdo did duty in the semifinal match. It is learnt that a new referee has been called to officiate in the final match. Bureau Report