B.N. Railway were one of the minnows when it came to play in the E.K. Nayanar Memorial Gold Cup Football tournament held at Kozhikode.
However, the team has emerged as one of the contenders for the gold cup along with Air India in the final to be held today.
Both the teams are brimming with confidence as they have posted memorable victories. However, I-league side Air India will have a slight edge over the Railway team as airmen have beat the Kolkata team (3-1) in the group matches.
The man to watch out in the Air India side is Nigerian striker and captain Ezeh Henry. He has already netted six goals in the tournament so far including a brace against B.N. Railway.
Besides, their forward Prakash Thorat has also shown his mettle by scoring three goals and providing plenty of assists.
Air India’s Japanese forward Takayuki Omi has also been in tremendous form and has scored one of the best goals of the tournament in the semifinals against Southern Samity, coached by Shabbir Ali.
When compared to the team strength of Air India, B.N. Railways are nowhere near but has managed an impeccable performance so far in the tournament.
It has quashed I-League team and tournament favourites Mumbai FC 3-2. Midfielders Sujit Malo, and Asim Das played brilliantly so far upfront. Its right winger Pratim Sarkar will be another man to watch in the final. However, to win the title, the team will have to sharpen its finishing.
“After the trouncing of Southern Samity, the confidence level and atmosphere in the team are high. The exposure we got here will be good for the I league matches to come.
Henry and his teammates are in good form and we hope for the best,” says Santosh Kashyap, the coach of the I League side.
“B.N. Railways have been showing that its a team to dread. No match will be an easy one and we will be trying our best to get the desired result. We will be playing an attacking game without any change from the last game’s line up,” he said.