Dempo ready for Mumbai FC challenge

Margao: Dempo Sports Club will be looking for their ninth win of the season and a chance to climb further up in the table when they host Mumbai FC on Saturday at the Nehru Stadium here in the 23rd round I-League match.

Going into this match, the golden eagles will be inspired by last week`s 4-1 victory over local rivals Churchill brothers. Striker Tolgay Ozbey, who scored four goals in the last match, will be looked upon for motivation by his side. Dempo are currently placed 4th in the table with 31 points from 21 matches while Mumbai FC are 10th with 24 points from as many matches. After winning five I-League matches out of six in 2014, Dempo coach Arthur Papas says why his team cannot afford to be complacent against the lower placed Mumbai team. "They (Mumbai FC) are a tricky team to come up against, they defend quite deep which saw them draw five matches out of last eight and depend a lot on their transition to attack and set-pieces, also they are team which has street smarts and try to make an advantage in every situation. This is why we must be cent percent focused to negate their threats and to also keep playing the positive football we have been doing of late," said the Australian. Although the odds are in favour of the home team as Mumbai FC are yet to win a match against them at Fatorda in I-League, the Mumbaikars will be arriving fresh from their away win against Shillong Lajong and a draw against East Bengal in the earlier round. "Mumbai FC has shown all year they are a very competitive team and proving that again by defeating Shilong last week which not many in the league have been able to do. All week we have spoken about how tricky a fixture this could be if we are not at cent percent in every part of the game," said Papas. There are no injury worries for Dempo and they will have their full squad available. "We will have close to a full squad available to choose from so the competition for places is positive, as it ensures everyone is training and preparing correctly in order to gain a starting position," summed up the head coach.