East Bengal to test bench strength against Malaysian side

East Bengal will look to build on its recently gained proficiency when it takes on Malaysian Super League champion Johor Darul Tazim FC in a Group F encounter of the AFC Cup at the Salt Lake Stadium on Tuesday. East Bengal is unbeaten in its last six outings across all competitions.

Eelco Schattorie, the Dutchman who took over the reins a couple of months ago, reiterated his philosophy of fielding a team from the bench, putting the I-League ahead of the continental competition. This stems from the fact that East Bengal has little chance of qualifying for the knockout stage — it is third among four teams with four points from as many matches.

It is tied third in the I-League with the tournament approaching its business-end.

Despite his insistence on reserve players, they won the last match quite comfortably (3-0) against Singapore’s Balestier Khalsa.

Drawing strength from his previous ‘experiment’, the Dutch tactician wishes to implement the same strategy against the Malaysian outfit, which is currently top of the group with nine points (three wins and a loss).

East Bengal lost the previous encounter between the two sides 4-1 in Johor Bahru in February.

“I have quite a few names on the injury list like Dudu Omagbemi, Leo Bertos, Milan Susak and Saumik Dey. So, I will play mainly my second team. I am going to try to win, but my priority will be the I-League,” said Schattorie, putting logic behind the perfunctory approach.

With Bojan Hodak discharged from his services and a new coach tipped to take over, assistant coach Ismail Ibrahim has temporary responsibility of Darul Tazim. “We have come here to try and win the game. The artificial turf will be difficult to adjust to against a side like East Bengal, which plays quite well,” said Ibrahim.

The Malaysian side packs a number of quality players, including Argentine striker Luciano Figueroa, and will be a tough opposition for East Bengal.

BFC aims for qualification

Meanwhile, a confident and in-form Bengaluru FC (BFC) takes on Maziya Sports & Recreation Club at the National Football Stadium in Male, knowing that a point will be enough to send it through to the pre-quarterfinals.

The Blues sit second in Group E with nine points from four games, five more than third-placed Maziya.