Kolkata, August 7, 2019: Mohun Bagan began their CFL campaign on a dismal note, losing to Peerless in the opening fixture. The Mariners will now look to switch back their focus on Durand Cup & ensure progress from the group stage. Kibu Vicuna’s team will want to build on a solid 2-0 victory in the first match of 2019 Durand Cup.

Mohun Bagan was soundly defeated by a 3-0 margin by Peerless in previous match. The fitness problems which were evident in the match against Mohammedan returned to plague Mariners. Things were not helped by gaps in the defence as Peerless attackers, especially Kromah caused a lot of problems.

Unfortunately, the Mariners also suffered from bad luck, missing a penalty & hitting the woodwork twice. On Wednesday Mariners engaged in stretching exercises while a video analysis session was conducted by Kibu Vicuna. A positive news for Mohun Bagan is fitness of Salva Chamorro. Chamorro had picked up an injury against Peerless but he will be part of the match squad against ATK.

Addressing the press in pre-match conference coach Kibu Vicuna said that his target was to have the best team as per the physical condition of the players. He further added that team selection will have to take into account that some players played in previous games and some players are not yet fully fit. Reacting to questions related to the tiredness of the team Vicuna emphasized that few players had trained for just a few weeks so it would take a bit of time to attain full match fitness. Vicuna also rubbished allegations that Mohun Bagan fans had abused him at the end of the last match, mentioning that it was natural everywhere that supporters became happy after winning a match and the opposite after a loss. He added that after five weeks of training and three friendly matches, the current team is new and still in process. He signed off by expressing his satisfaction with Mohun Bagan’s junior players and said some of the junior players could feature against ATK.

Mohun Bagan’s opponent ATK is led by former Mohun Bagan player Prabir Das. The largely youthful squad has talented youngster like 2017 U17 World Cupper Komal Thatal & Hitesh Sharma. Veteran Cavin Lobo adds experience to the ATK team. The Deggie Cardozo mentored team scraped to a 1-1 draw against Indian Navy in their opening match, thanks to an 85th minute penalty from their skipper.

Mohun Bagan will face ATK in Durand Cup on 8th August in Mohun Bagan Ground. The match will kick off at 3 PM.