Preview : Maharashtra vs Bengal in the 3rd day of 72nd Santosh Trophy

Wednesday holds an exciting battle on the card as the in-form 32time defending champion West Bengal takes on a strong Maharashtra side. While Bengal is fresh; coming after a comfortable 3-0 victory over a weakened Manipur side, Maharashtra has had quite a record in the West zone qualifiers but yet to play a match in this final stage of 72nd Santosh Trophy.

Heart of the matter !

Maharashtra had pumped in 15 goals in their qualifiers with an average of 5 goals per game with their ever-dependant striker Ranjeet Singh  and Aaron D’Costa deemed to hold the key for his side. They blanked Lakshadweep 5-0 before going on to humiliate Daman & Diu by 7 goal to nil, while against Andhra Pradesh they had registered a sublime 2-0 victory to finish the qualifiers on cloud nine. Experienced custodian Owais Khan is rumored to don the captain’s armband. Having not a single team from Maharashtra playing in I-League after the Mumbai FC fiasco was infact a blessing in disguise for the westerners as they won’t be lamenting about the usual absence of quality players unlike several other teams. Pitted in a group of Death along with the likes of West Bengal,Manipur, Kerala and Chandigarh, Maharashtra will be desperate to bring full 3 points to avoid permutation-combination in the later stage. The 20-member Maharashtra team was selected after the 40 probables went through a strenuous camp under the supervision of Head Coach Augusto D’Silva, an AFC ‘A’ License holder. D’Silva, is being accompanied by Mathew Susainathan, Assistant Coach, Sudhakar Rane, Manager and Physiotherapist Kunal Bargal.

Bengal on the other hand will be confident after a satisfying show against Manipur as they are upbeat about defending the title. Jiten Murmu who was one of the last few additions into the team will be leading his side just like Monday but would surely like to perform few notches higher than what he had against Manipur. Much will depend upon how Jiten, Sumit Das and Bidyasagar Singh capitalise in the final third against a formidable Maharashtra side. Bengal will be dying to secure a place in semi final by picking up two consecutive victories as they would like to keep the momentum going.

Maharshtra  Squad:

Goalkeepers – Owais Khan (Nagpur), Harshad Meher (Mumbai);

Defenders – Dion Menezes, Shubham Khanvilkar, Nikhil Prabhu, Samson Joseph (all Mumbai), Afzaal Akhtar (Nagpur)

 Midfielders – Ashrafali Makandar, Himanshu Patil, Linekar Machado, Mervin Stephen, Advait Shinde (all Mumbai), Kiran Pandhare (Solapur), Mohammed N.R. Ansari, Vasu Kanojiya (both Nagpur), Asifullah Khan (Yavatmal), Sahil Bhokare (Pune);

Forwards – Aniket Joshi (Nagpur), Ranjeet Singh, Aaron D’Costa (both Mumbai).

 

 

Bengal Squad :

Goalkeepers: Ranojit Majumdar, Laltu Mondal, Sandip Paul

Defenders: Tanmoy Ghosh, Ankit Mukherjee, Krishna Biswas, Manotosh Chakladar, Prosenjit Paul, Sourav Dasgupta Nabi Hossain Khan

Midfielders: Bidyasagar Singh, Sumit Das, Sujoy Dutta, Tirthankar Sarkar, Babun Das, Sanchayan Samaddar, Jagannath Oraon

Forwards: Rajon Barman, Jiten Murmu (captain), Sandip Bhttacharya

Time – 3.00 pm (IST)

Venue-  Howrah Stadium

 

 

SSE BFC to conduct trials for U9 to U17 age group players

SSE BFC Soccer School will be conducting fresh trials this month for players aged below 17 to be part of their football program SSE BFC Soccer Schools is a football…

Share

India Khelo Football Season 3 Trials for Mumbai and Thane are here

India Khelo Football (IKF) is back with Season 3 of its widely acclaimed trials with an aim to cover more than 50 cities this time around. After the resounding success…

Share

Mastering the Art of Football Trials: Key Pre-Trial Factors to Keep in Mind

Football trials are a critical juncture for aspiring players to showcase their skills and secure a spot in a team. To maximize your chances of success, it’s essential to tailor your approach based on your playing position as well as keeping in mind a few pre-trial factors.

Share

Somaiya Sports Academy to conduct trials for MFA 2nd Division campaign

Somaiya Sports Academy is looking for passionate young football players for the Somaiya Sports Academy Football Team to compete in the MFA 2nd Division League 2023-2024. If selected, you will…

Share

BFC Soccer Schools – Mumbai to conduct trials for U14 & U16 Girls

The BFC Soccer Schools Elite team girls’ trials are coming up in search of talented players from the U14 to U16 (Born 2009 and after) age groups into the club’s…

Share

Opportunity to make the team: U.K.M. Kothrud FC conducts selection trials for girls team

Pune-based U.K.M. Kothrud FC has announced that they will be conducting selection trials for their girl’s team on 15th January 2023 The club welcomes all players to come and showcase…

Share

The Sunday Football League Season 4 is back

The Sunday Football League is back with its fourth season, and it’s shaping up to be the best one yet. With eight talented teams competing at the Kes Kandivali turf, there…

Share

BFC Soccer Schools Elite team trials in Feb

Bengaluru FC launched their Mumbai program last season with the Soccer Schools and Elite programs with its local partner Soccer Schools of Excellence (SSE).  Bengaluru Football Club is a professional club…

Share

India Khelo Football Season 2 Trials in Mumbai: A Chance to Kickstart Your Football Career

After conducting trials in 34 cities & villages across India, India Khelo Football is coming to Mumbai to hunt talent on 7th January. India Khelo Football kickstarted its season 2…

Share

Mumbai Customs to conduct trials for Elite League

Former champions Mumbai Customs will be holding open trials for the upcoming MFA Elite Corporate League (Elite Division) The 2019 MFA Elite Division champions Mumbai Customs are conducting open trials…

Share