AFC Cup: East Bengal & Salgaocar under pressure

The two Indian participating clubs - Salgaocar SC and East Bengal Club - in the 2012 AFC Cup will try to get their first win of the campaign tomorrow. East Bengal Club host Arbil SC from Iraq in Kolkata, while Salgaocar SC have travelled to Jordan to face Al-Wehdat in Amman.

The Kolkata giants have lost both their Group B matches so far and will try to make amends at the Saltlake Stadium tomorrow afternoon. Coach Trevor Morgan has finally got his whole squad at his disposal.

At the pre-match press conference Trevor Morgan said, "We have learnt from our mistakes in the last match and will improve to aim for a win." Trevor further added, "We have to be more resolute in the defence." He also commented that his team had to suffer due to poor supervision in the first match against Al Orouba of Yemen.

East Bengal striker Tolgay Ozbey said, "Our aim is to win and we all will be giving our best to put up a impressive show tomorrow."

Iraqi side Arbil SC have come to Kolkata with two draws in the tournament to their name which puts pressure on boths sides to play for a win. Arbil will be without injured Iraqi internationals forward Luay Salah and defender Saad Atiah. The four foreign players for the Iraqi side are – Ugandan defender Ivan Bukenya, Syrian midfielders Abdelrazak Al Hussain and Nadim Sabagh along with Nigerian forward Obode Efe.

In Jordan Salgaocar SC will try to build on their impressive draw against FC Neftchi of Uzbekistan, but Al-Wehdat will hope to score a second home win in a row after beating Omani side Arouba 2-1 in their last match.

At a pre-match press conference Karim Bencharifa said, "Al-Wehdat is a strong team, they beat the Omani team Al Arouba and it will definitely be a challenge to play them."

"I was satisfied with the training session yesterday and am hoping that our players will continue with the same momentum in the match tomorrow," said Karim. "It will be a challenge to play a strong team like Al Wehdat," Karim conceded, "and especially in a stadium full of passionate fans. However, I am optimistic that my players will overcome all the obstacles." Karim added.

Al Wehdat is banking on home support and has promised free entry for its fans for the match at the stadium tomorrow.