CALCUTTA, Nov 19: Mohun Bagan take on JCT in the second semi-final of the IFA Shield football tournament at the Salt Lake Stadium tomorrow. JCT, a late inclusion in the tournament after Bangladesh side Mukti Joddha pulled out, made it to the knock-out stage after defeating Singapore side FC Jurong.Having played their earlier matches at the Kanchenjungha Stadium in Siliguri, this will be their first game at the Salt Lake Stadium. Bagan on the other hand, have played all their quarter-final league matches on this ground and should not have too many problems tomorrow. Bagan coach PK Banerjee indicated that sweeper-back Samuel Omollo and midfielder Yonnan Basim are still not completely fit. Both are, however, likely to play the semifinals. Bagan will also miss midfielder Amit Das who picked up two yellow cards against Air Force of Thailand in their last league game. Nazimul Haque will accompany Chima Okerie in the forward line, although Banerjee is not too happy with Haque. However, with IM Vijayanpresently in the national camp, Banerjee is not left with any options.The JCT attack will be spearheaded by Sanjay Majhi and Saravanan. The JCT camp appear to be disappointed with these two as they feel that the duo, picked up from Calcutta in the inter-state transfers, have been performing below par. Rather, JCT depends more upon the likes of Dipankar Roy and Ramphal.On paper, Bagan is the stronger side and the favourites. However, upsets are quite frequent in football and JCT might be motivating themselves with visions of an upset.
