I-League: Sporting looking for first victory

Margao: Sporting Clube de Goa would look for their first win when they take on Salgaocar FC in the Hero I-League at Nehru Stadium at Fatorda here on Sunday.

Sporting Clube have a good strike force in the form of Anthony Wolfe and Odafe Okolie but goals have been hard to come by for the Goan team even after having dominating and creating ample chances in many matches.

They are now languishing at the bottom of league table with seven points from 13 matches.

Salgaocar FC too have been inconsistent and they have dropped to sixth place with 14 points from 12 outings. A win tomorrow will certainly help the Greens in their pursuit of a top half of the table finish.

Salgaocar, who beat Sporting Clube 2-0 in the first leg, were hit hard in the absence of their key strikers as they lacked in finishing touches. But with Darryl Duffy back in the side, they would be expecting a positive result tomorrow.

Salgaocar assistant coach Mariano Dias said, "We have the entire squad available for selection and been solid at home this year. But unfortunately we have not collected enough points on the road to challenge for top honours.

"We will continue to stick to the basics and the results will hopefully take care of themselves," stated Dias.

"Ivorian Douhou Pierre and Scottish striker Darryl Duffy combined superbly and were outstanding for the Greens in the last game. They ran circles around the Pune FC defence and even hit the woodwork once each but were unfortunate not to score. The two are certain to be a handful and keep the Sporting defence on their toes," Dias added.

Sporting coach Matthew D'Costa was optimistic of his side's chances on the eve of the game.

"We have been training hard and have played well. In our last few matches we created plenty of chances but failed to score. We have been focusing on our attacking play and I am confident that tomorrow will be the day when our fortunes change," he said.