Salgaocar FC will take on Sporting Clube de Goa in a clash that can determine which side finishes in the fourth position on the points table on the penultimate day of the I-League football tournament on Saturday.
Salgaocar FC are at the sixth spot on the table heading into the final fixture after a string of solid performances at the business end of the tournament. They were at the bottom of the table after four losses in their first four games, but the appointment of Santosh Kashyap as coach changed things drastically.
Big wins against East Bengal at home and DSK Shivajians away turned the tide in Kashyap's favour along with striker Darryl Duffy's impressive run of form.
The Vasco-based side has the opportunity to finish at the fourth spot if they win their game against their cross-city rivals and if Mumbai FC drop points versus DSK Shivajains and will be breathing a sigh of relief. However, they cannot afford to take Saturday's fixture lightly, with Sporting winning two of their last five games, whilst they have managed to win just once.
"We come here after playing two tough matches; we did well in Aizawl but couldn't execute our plan in Bengaluru. This is a different game; we play at home so that's definitely an advantage also the team looks to be in a good shape. From our last match we want to achieve a respectable position in the table, so yes a win here can take us to the fourth spot," Kashyap said.
Sporting Clube de Goa walk into the game on the back of a 0-0 away draw versus East Bengal last week. They played their last home game two weeks ago, with a 5-2 annihilation of Shillong Lajong at the Fatorda Stadium.
Mateus Costa said ahead of the game that the fourth spot is not all that his side is playing for versus their local rivals.
"The derbies are always high-pressure games; it's not just the 4th position which is at stake here. With the Federation Cup looming around we would definitely want to win tomorrow. This can be a huge boost for the players ahead of the Federation Cup and also, it would mean we play the second leg at home which is a huge advantage." Costa said.
