Salgaocar upbeat against Dempo

Mapusa: Upbeat Salgaocar will be looking for their third successive win when they lock horns against Dempo in their I-League match at the Duler Stadium, Mapusa on Wednesday.

Both the teams started their campaign in contrasting styles with Salgaocar upbeat after two wins in a row while Dempo on a low after a loss and two draws. Salgaocar striker Scottish Darryl Duffy and French Claude Gnakpa have looked settled with the former scoring once in each match and was declared man of the match on both the occasions and coach Derrick Pereira will be looking on him to deliver the goods upfront. Francis Fernandes, Clifton Dias and Gilbert Oliveira have supported them well on the flanks with good crosses to trouble the rival defence. Their defence also looks solid under Chika Wali, who is the driving force at the rear along with keeper Karanjit Singh. Salgaocar`s coach Derrick Pereira said he is pleased with his team performance but need to improve upon on the whole. "We have nagging injuries to Nicolau Colaco and Darryl Duffy but they will be fit to play tomorrow. Victory is important and that is what we have achieved in the last two matches and hopefully the trend continuous tomorrow," stated Pereira. On the other hand, Dempo is struggling to put up a collective show from their three matches they have played. Their biggest concern is that they could not defend the lead they have taken in the last two matches and allowed their rivals to come back and hold them to a draw. Assistant coach Mauricio Afonso, who is looking after the team in the absence of head coach Arthur Papas has full a squad at his disposal. "Tomorrow is a tough match and we need to win to raise the morale of the team. My boys have been working hard and have sorted our mistakes and are looking forward for our first win," stated Afonso. PTI