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Lajong vs East Bengal
Line-ups
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Have stuck with the formation that has been working for me recently. Not too many surprises as far as selections are concerned. Young defensive duo Bhattacharya & Rahman start together for the first time while Diogo Salomao starts up top again.
Result
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F@3ksh*tballsmotherf@ckingc#nts!!!! This result makes the race for the title almost impossible. Dempo now lead by 9 points with only 6 games to play. Needless to say that my laptop was lucky to survive this result but in hind sight maybe pairing a 16 year old with a 17 year old in the centre of defence wasn't my smartest move :'(
East Bengal vs Goa
Line-ups
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A lot of changes for this game. A poor result against Lajong & only 2 days between matches forcing my hand. The spine of the side is definitely looking a lot stronger today.
Result
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Not our best performance against the relegation candidates but a win is a win. Guidileye gets the only goal & picks up another POM. He has really been out to impress since returning to the side, no doubt trying to attract a new club.
East Bengal vs Bengaluru
Line-ups
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Have named an almost unchanged line-up for the all important clash against 3rd placed Bengaluru. A defeat here could see us slip to 4th not to mention kill off our already slim title chances. Iban Salvador returns from injury but will start from the bench.
Result
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Now that's what I'm talking about!!! Gurjinder Kumar standing out with a goal & 2 assists in a team that didn't have a bad player. This win cuts Dempo's lead at the top to 7 points with 4 games to go. A win against Salgaocar next up followed by a win over
Dempo in the following game would see us put some real pressure on the leaders!
Salgaocar vs East Bengal
Line-ups
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Another very important game see's me pick my absolute strongest possible 11 (with the exception of Salvador who I am easing back into the team gently) with our next opponent to be Dempo this is a MUST WIN!!!
Result
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Christ!!! Why can't we just do things the easy way? We took the lead early on but had to withstand some heavy pressure late on to secure the 3 points. Stressful to say the least!
East Bengal vs Dempo
Here it is, the biggest match of the year, the title decider. We must win to keep our title hopes alive! Dempo are on an incredible 13 game unbeaten run in the league (only 18 league games a season remember!). Its time we put a stop to it!
Line-ups
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Two very strong line-ups here. Have gambled on starting Salvador, not sure he will last 90 minutes but we will need a touch of class to break them down so its worth the risk. Somewhat surprised by Dempo's formation, Clifford Miranda has chosen to really flood the midfield, no doubt anticipating a tight affair, & in doing so caught me off guard a little.
Result
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Just couldn't do it :'( Credit to the boys they worked their ***** off & had the better of the game but the result just didn't fall our way. To be honest it would have been easy to give up when they took the lead after 63 minutes but the guys kept pushing, drew level & actually had chances to win it. Gutted!!!
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So Dempo take home the title with 2 games yet to play. Have to hand it to them, their last loss was in January, almost 4 months ago! Too good, this year!
I-League Table
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Disappointing that the title is now out of reach but we can't dwell on it for too long with the race for 2nd (through to 4th) still wide open. Next up is our final ACC group match against South China before our final 2 games of the season, which includes a Kolkata derby against 3rd placed Mohun Bagan!