Durand Cup 2023: FC Goa aim victory against Downtown Heroes

FC Goa drew their previous Durand Cup game against NorthEast United.

After the Independence Day break, the 132nd IndiaOil Durand Cup resumes business with double-headers yet again as FC Goa (FCG) play their final Group D game against Downtown Heroes of Kashmir in Guwahati’s Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium (IGAS) and Emami East Bengal (EEB) eye knockout qualification with a win in Group A’s final fixture against Punjab FC (PFC) at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan (KBK) in Kolkata.

The first match in Guwahati begins at 3.00pm Indian Standard Time (IST) while the EEB-PFC game has a scheduled 6.00pm IST kick-off.

The Manolo Marquez trained FC Goa are in an unenviable position after dropping points in their previous game against NorthEast United FC (NEUFC) as qualification is no longer in their hands. They first however need to win against Downtown Heroes on Wednesday and win big.

That they will come out all guns blazing was clear when key attacking winger Udanta Singh said a day ahead of the game, “Not getting the three points against NorthEast United means that tomorrow’s game against Downtown Heroes becomes a must-win affair. We are, however, confident that we can do that. We want to win the title, not just qualify for the knockouts, and we want to show this intent when we take to the pitch tomorrow.”

He also added, “The weather is quite hot here, which makes training and playing tough. But as professional footballers, we cannot use that as an excuse for not giving our 100%. We’ve been training every day and we look forward to ending our group stage campaign tomorrow on a strong note.”

That “strong note” will not be good news for Downtown Heroes given the Gaurs put six past Shillong Lajong, against whom the side from Kashmir went down 1-2, despite Shillong having been reduced to 10-men for most periods of the game. To stay alive in the tournament, nothing short of a win will help the Heroes and it looks like a big mountain to climb against a side like FC Goa.

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