Buoyant Arrows face struggling United SC

Kolkata: Fresh from their upset win over Dempo, giant-killers Pailan Arrows will look to maintain their fine run when they face United SC in 24th round I-League fixture at Kalyani Stadium on Friday.

"The spirit of the team is high after beating a big side like Dempo," Arrows Australian coach, Arthur Papas said about their 2-0 win against the defending champions five days ago. "This has taken the team morale to a new height and I hope we continue with the same momentum. Our performance has been consistently good so far. Our boys have shown a lot of improvement, which is evident in the way we performed against the big names of the tournament," Papas added. But it would be interesting to see how the youthful side tackles the opposition boasting a star-studded foreign line-up in Ranty Martins and Bello Rasaq. "Our opponents tomorrow have some good players and we have to be watchful against them. We need to focus on our strengths to make a match out of it," he said. Arrows are currently placed 10th with 23 points from 22 matches and a win will give them a promotion up the standings. Smarting from a 0-1 loss to Salgaocar, United SC will look forward to the return of Martins and Rasaq who missed the previous round because of suspension. "This will strengthen our attack and defence," United coach Eelco Schattori said. Subrata Pal is likely to start under the bar for United SC as regular goalkeeper Sangram Mukherjee is injured. United are currently placed fourth in the League with 35 points from 23 matches. PTI