Goa have a number of injury worries to contend with ahead of their semi-final clash against hosts Tamil Nadu later this evening at the Nehru Stadium, Chennai.
The western state has been in good touch especially coming off a 5-0 victory over Maharashtra in their last game. However, injuries to their strikers have left coach Mariano Dias in a tight spot.
Speaking to Goal.com, Mariano Dias said, “Abranches, Branco and Freddy are injured. We will have to consider their fitness before the game. “
Dias praised their opponents and mentioned their star strikers P.Muthu and P.Riju as the main threat for Goa.
“Their strikers have to be kept in check and of course, they have the seasoned Kulothungan in the middle. They do have the home advantage as they are well versed with the conditions.
“However, we shall enter the game with determined intentions,” said Dias.
With West Bengal already in the finals after they beat Services last evening, a Goa-Bengal final is what has been billed as a ‘dream final’.
“We are not even thinking about West Bengal. Let’s concentrate the game we have in hand,” said Dias on a concluding note.
Source: Goal.com
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Thursday 11 June 2009, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.